Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna

Hey, I've figured out why the members of Congress campaign so hard for election, then re-election and re-election, until some of them have to be wheeled in and out of sessions on a gurney. Those are really sweet jobs.

The current salary (2011-2012) for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $174,000 per year. The leaders get more, $193,400 for guys like Mitch McConnell, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Eric Cantor. John Boehner gets $223,500. Of course those salaries get automatic COLA increases every year--Congress made sure they voted that into law. And they come with gold-plated health insurance and retirement plans.

But that's not the biggest benefit of those jobs. How hard do they really work? A look at the official schedule of Congress gives us a clue.

I took a look at the official schedule of Congress on their website. As a sample, I looked at how hard they worked representing all of us from the first of April this year until Election Day on November 12.

There are 225 days between those dates. Congress will only be officially in session for 68 days during that time, only 30% of the time. For 157 days the Congress will be officially "recessed". (Getting milk and cookies and a little exercise, I presume.)

With all the unemployment talk these days, these sweet jobs are available for anyone who wants to apply. High pay, great health insurance, a generous retirement plan, and 36 weeks of vacation every year!

Wow, doing the "people's work" must be exhausting.

But if we want to take a look at government spending that's fraud and waste, I think I have an idea where to begin.