Maxine Waters

Now that I have hopefully intrigued you with tales of LegiStorm’s expert sleuthing abilities, it is time for you to learn to make the most of this trove of information.

The next few articles in this series will walk you through different parts of LegiStorm.com as a tutorial for how to use the site to find the information you want. Whether you want to read about a Senator’s personal loans or Agriculture Department salaries, it’s all there.

Home page

When you first log on to LegiStorm, the front page contains political news that shows how LegiStorm has been used recently. I recommend that you do not skip past this part, as it contains tidbits of entertaining, and sometimes infuriating, news about political figures looking like fools.

In hot water

For instance, the front page at LegiStorm.com today reveals that Rep. Maxine Waters owns stock in OneUnited Bank. Furthermore, her husband has been a director there. Based on this, it is not surprising that Waters has defended the company in many cases. Conflict of interest much?

Congressional pay scale

The first section of LegiStorm is dedicated to Congressional salaries. You can browse using the following categories: Staffer, Representative, Senator, Committee, Leadership Office, Admin Office and State. Once  you pick a category you can search for names and titles. It lists current and former office holders.

Six figures

The base salary for a state senator right now is $174,000 per year. If you check out an individual it will also show to the total salary paid to that leader’s staff. If you click on a time period, you can find out the pay for everyone who works for that leader, from the scheduler who makes about $5,000 per year, to the legislative director who makes more than $120,000.

Next part of the journey

The next searchable database on the site details all of the trips taken on the government’s dime. Check out Part 5 for details.

Michelle Bachmann

Although it was United States leaders who passed the laws declaring their salaries and expenditures public information, they are none too happy that people are taking advantage of those laws. Many leaders and Congressional staffers have lashed out at Jock Friedly, creator of LegiStorm, a searchable online database that reveals government salaries, foreign gifts and how much  they spend on plane tickets.

Perhaps they are just angry because LegiStorm keeps a running blog of ways it has made them look foolish.

News on top of numbers

Go to LegiStorm.com, and today the top story highlights the fact that during the recession congressional staffers’ bonuses have been among the highest recorded. Another story highlights the completion of the 2008 salary report. Come an’ get it!

Scroll down farther, and you’ll find stories about individual members of Congress and ways LegiStorm has gotten them in trouble. I haven’t seen a story about a payday loan regulation advocate taking out payday loans, but if that ever happens, it’ll be on there.

The proof is on the World Wide Web

A March 17 post on the LegiStorm blog quotes Rep. Michelle Bachmann: “I have not taken earmarks in the last three years that I’ve been in Congress, because the system is so corrupt.”

However, the numbers tell a different story. Turns out, in the last three years Bachmann has sponsored seven earmarks. Two of those she even sponsored all on her own.

Random information

Well, there will be plenty of time to go over the stories on the blog that point out lies and conflicts of interest. However, I think it might be more fun to find out about some of the more interesting foreign gifts people have gotten.

Now, where shall I put this?

John McCain in 2006 received  an antique sword from the Republic of Georgia. Senator Russel Feingold, also in 2006, got an Iraqi chess set from President Jalal Talabani.

Russia’s minister of defense gave Sen. Ted Stevens a carved stone grape cluster in 2006. Also that year the Royal Thai Embassy paid for a legislative assistant’s “airport tax.” But the win goes to Sen. Mark Dayton, who got a 500 million-year-old scorpion fossil from China.

How much is enough?

I’m confused by this article from Reuters. The author seems to think that government workers who make $174,000 a year are in danger of needing online payday loans and barely scraping by.

It certainly puts things in perspective, though. I understand now why some lawmakers are slow to help low-income families. On the other side of the coin, I understand why they are so concerned about “the middle class.”

Semantics

Andy Sullivan writes in his article:

Congressional lawmakers who oversee trillions in government spending must make ends meet on $174,000.

Make ends meet on $174,000? That is five times what I made last year and more than seven times what I’ll probably make this year. Unless said lawmakers have six kids, the ends should be meeting just fine as far as I can tell. I’m pretty sure anyone who makes that much money never thinks about whether they need online payday loans to get groceries or keep the heat from being shut off.

Unconvinced citizen

When I first read the phrase “make ends meet” I thought Sullivan was writing tongue-in cheek. However, the article goes on to say this:

Some (lawmakers) brag of spartan apartments and ramen noodle dinners to show they are careful with taxpayer dollars.

Granted, government employees do often make much less working in public service than they could make in the private sector. This is the basis of Sullivan’s article. But, come on, you make nearly $200,000 a year and you live in a studio and eat starving college student food? I’m not buying it

What does it all mean

It seems to me that our country’s view of who is “poor” is ever-changing, and it makes me think that not being able to afford a Hummer is the new definition of low-income. When did Americans start to feel so entitled?

The government has spent hundreds of billions to make sure that “regular” Americans can still get loans in order to be able to spend money they don’t have. Meanwhile people who need online payday loans for diapers and food seem to be forgotten. What’s your idea of  “poor”?