I have been at my current job for just over a year now. I’ve been hoping for a raise, maybe an extra dollar or two an hour, but it still hasn’t gone through.

I understand these kinds of things go through a process. People have to discuss my value and worth to the company, ultimately deciding if the work I’ve done warrants me earning more money. It’s not like I can just hold a vote every year and accept more money. Only Congress gets to do that.

The pride and joy of California, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Franciso, is going to be making an extra $6,100 this year.

I know what you’re thinking though – millions of Americans are out of work or barely hanging on to the jobs they have, while these already affluent politicians continue to make more and more money. Our country hasn’t been in this bad of a financial situation since our great-grandparents were kids. Yet, salaries for House lawmakers remain at bloated heights of close to $170,000 a year, and representatives will receive an extra $4,700 annually.

There is one man who seemed to realize his inflated worth: Rep. Jim Matheson of Utah. He made a bid in 2006 to get a direct vote to block the House and Senate’s cost of living adjustment. It was immediately shot down, of course, and lawmakers accepted a raise of $3,300 a year. This brought their salaries up to $168,500, according to a 2006 Associated Press article.

“I do not think that it is appropriate to let this bill go through without an up-or-down vote on whether or not Congress should have an increase in its own pay,” Matheson said in the article.

Now it is easy to berate politicians for their ethical misgivings. It is almost expected that they are not the most forthright people. Just like celebrities and famous athletes, politicians are put on a pedestal; they breathe a rarified air that we common folk will most likely never inhale. The solution is not to write discouraging columns though, or complain to our co-workers and friends. The solution is easier than we think. Take away the power. Stop the automatic yearly pay increases, lower the inflated salaries of our elected officials and stop having so many of them.

There are currently 435 members of the House of Representatives; it is made up of delegates sent from every state, depending on the population of those states. Every state is guaranteed at least one representative. How about instead of 435 members we cut it in half, down to 218? Every state will still have representation; voices won’t go unheard. All the while, politicians will have to work harder to get things done. Maybe this way they’ll actually earn their wages.

We can let go of half the Senate as well, down from 100 to 50. Just in the elimination of that base pay will save taxpayers more than $45 million a year. The blue-collar workers of our country are getting laid off, so why not the politicians?

If Washington is too far away for you to think about, take a look in our own backyard. Elk Grove Unified School District Superintendent Steven Ladd just had his contract revised and approved by the E.G.U.S.D. school board. Ladd will now be making an annual salary of $246,406. That’s even more than Pelosi is pulling down. Yet, while their bank accounts are full, our economy is failing and our children are suffering from a poor public education system that is being run by underfunded school districts.

If your salary is based on the merit and work done by the individual, our country’s highest paid need to take a look in their diamond and ruby encrusted mirrors, because something is not adding up.

Ladd later thanked the school board and the community saying, “It is truly a wonderful place to be and a place that has great people doing great things.”

I’m still waiting on my raise, but if I were in Ladd’s shoes I would have to agree. This is a pretty great place to live. That is, if you have the right job…or any job.

Matt Rasher can be reached at [email protected]