Take The Money And Run

Congress blushes at a pay hike

Like most people, highly placed public servants yearn for fatter paychecks. Unlike most people, some of those public servants -- namely, Congressmen -- are in a position to vote raises for themselves. Or cuts. In the Depression year of 1932, a politically prudent concern for seemliness prompted Congress to slash its salaries 10%. That is not likely to happen in 1987. But as members of the 100th Congress weigh the very real financial needs of officials in all branches of Government, including themselves, they are painfully aware of how public sentiment is running. During a call-in poll last month, ABC television...

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