Amendment XXVII
Ratified May 7, 1992.
The twenty-seventh amendment is important because it prohibits any law that increases or decreases the salary of members of Congress from taking effect until the start of the next set of terms of office for Representatives. This amendment was intended as an addition to Article I, Section 6 which stated that "The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States". This serves as a restrain on the power of Congress to set its own salary without any accountability to the electorate. The Representative James Madison of Virginia introduced the amendment in 1789 and was finally ratified in 1992.
This short comic represents what it was like before the twenty-seventh amendment was ratified. Congressman didn't have to make sacrifices like the average Joe because they were able to set their own salary.
This is another good depiction of what congress was able to do before the twenty-seventh amendment was ratified. Congress was taking the average persons tax dollars and setting themselves their own salary. Thanks to the twenty-seventh amendment, this act was put to an end.
No comments:
Post a Comment