Someone sent me this gem last night. So, I just spiffed it up into my usual format and knew that you would be entertained, but for the most part; informed. Most of us have a vision of what goes on in Congress, and we have heard references that the money game plays a big part of a legislator's time. This gem paints a more realistic picture for us about what goes on. It is easier to see how legislators are either bought out with corporate special interests or depend on the support that is more inline with common voters. Somehow, we have got to remove the financial monster that is between our legislators and the legislation. Guess who wants to keep this current de-facto operation as is? The Lobbyist Industry Complex (new term?) is in existence because the corporate business and the wealthy have a lot more money than we do - so just guess who wins. We would like to see the money removed from the equation of legislating, but that takes a strong effort to overcome. So, with enough money to be seen and heard, the Bill For Legislation Reformation is done with an overwhelming mass of public opinion and pressure. LIC ...(lobbyist industrial complex), I like that. It defines a big problem.
Bruce Fanger author
Congress Spends Half Its Time Begging for Money — and We're the Ones Paying for It
If Americans really understood how members of Congress spend their time, they'd riot before breakfast.
Here's the ugly truth: while the House averages 147 legislative days a year and the Senate around 165, the real schedule — the one that actually governs their lives — is the fundraising calendar. Freshmen are quietly told to expect 20–30 hours a week dialing for dollars. Not researching a bill. Not meeting constituents. Not negotiating policy. Just calling rich people and PACs like overpaid telemarketers with better business cards.
And the kicker?
We're paying them full salary while they do it.
A member of Congress earns $174,000/year, but the taxpayer's true cost is much higher. When you factor in their office budgets, staff, committee support, benefits, and institutional overhead, the real public cost per member is around $3–4 million a year.
If half their workweek is spent fundraising, then roughly $1.5–2 million per member, per year, is effectively taxpayer-funded begging.
Multiply that by 535, and you're staring at a system where close to $800 million to $1 billion a year of our money goes to subsidizing political fundraising instead of governing. That's before you count the far bigger downstream price tag:
corporate carveouts slipped into bills
donor-driven tax loopholes
regulatory agencies defanged to keep check-writers happy
rushed legislation because members didn't have time to read it
and the enormous economic drag of corruption, which political economists estimate in the tens of billions.
This is the hidden tax we never voted for: the cost of a political system addicted to donor money.
Getting money out of politics isn't idealism. It's fiscal responsibility. Every hour a member spends on the phone instead of doing their job is an hour taxpayers pay for twice — once in salary, and again in the crooked policy that follows.
Cut off the donor pipeline, and suddenly members have no excuse not to legislate. No reason to dodge tough votes. No incentive to perform for billionaires. No captive calendar carved up by the call sheet.
We don't just get a cleaner democracy.
We get a cheaper one.
Sources
Average legislative days per year:
ThoughtCo, "Average Number of Legislative Days" (House ~147, Senate ~165).
Fundraising time expectations:
Issue One, Congressional Fundraising Treadmill — freshmen told to spend 20–30 hours/week fundraising.
CBS News, 60 Minutes: Members told to raise ~$18,000/day; schedules structured around call time.
Member salary and office costs:
Congressional Research Service (CRS), Member Pay & Allowances; House and Senate office budgets ~1.3–1.9M/year.
Economic cost of corruption:
World Bank, IMF research estimating tens-of-billions drag from political corruption; see "The Costs of Corruption" (2019).
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Juan Matute
C C C
Claremont, California
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