Score yourself based on honor system.
- When there is a government shutdown in the United States, Congresspeople do not get paid during that time
a) True
b) False - When there is a government shutdown in the United States, Congressional staffers do not get paid during that time
a) True
b) False - Who made up these rules?
a) Congress
b) Congressional staffers
Extra credit!
Interns get paid:
a) Usually, they don’t
b) Only if they have been sexually molested by a congressperson
c) Some of them run themselves into debt in order to serve their country
d) In 2018 Congress proposed to give $20,000/year to each representative’s office so they can pay interns; senators’ offices would get $50,000/year. That legislation has not been signed by President Trump because of the shutdown
e) At least the shutdown is not resulting in the interns losing their pay, so that’s good news for them!
f) 51% of Republican senators offer their interns some kind of pay; 31% of Democratic senators do
g) All of the above!
Score Yourself:
- B
- A
- A
- G
Key:
1 right: You’re a babe in the woods
2 right: You are a solid member of the consumer class; stop reading this and go watch youtube videos
3 right: You’re a good observer, which means you are cynical and hard-bitten and have acid indigestion
4 right: You cheated! You’re probably a senator
Damn, I got only three correctly. I was wrong with #2; I assumed that a big, bloated, and corrupt bureaucracy would pay their staffers (but not interns, interns never get paid anyway).
Not being familiar with American government, for each question I simply guessed that the more cynical option is likely to be correct. I was wrong with #2 only because the other option seemed to be the more cynical for me.
The other day Pro Publica put out an article titled (in the Raw Story repost at least) “REVEALED: Trump has made 95 secret appointments he doesn’t want you to know about.” One of them was Antonin Scalia’s namesake grandson, who was appointed as a “temporary assistant” at the State Department in September. I commented that it sounded to me like Scalia was working as an intern, and was probably doing drudge work in some office. I also said it’s the kind of thing that will impress some employers on a resume, but really doesn’t mean much.
I missed the extra credit because I stopped reading after the first answer. At least I’m not a Senator.
Apart from question 2 I really bungled 4 with a messy pick and choose. I find it hard to believe that so many senators pay their interns (f) and b seems to imply that victims of sexual assault by politicians always get paid
hush moneyfair and adequate compensation for what was no doubt a minor imposition. [That thing blotting out the sun is a sarcasm tag] For both there are cheaper options available and they’re probably quite similar.I have peak cynicism: got them all right, and am not a Senator. I have, however, lived all 65 years of my life in the US, so it’s hard not to pick up on these patterns.
I got three, I thought senators would have the sense to pay their staff, should have known better. The whole idea of unpaid interns is so very discriminatory, exactly the kind of position only those with priviledge can take.
Jazzlet@#6:
I thought senators would have the sense to pay their staff, should have known better.
How else are the youth of today(tm) going to learn how to grift? They are getting “valuable experience” in return for their work.
Some responses to stupid statements:
Them: “We can’t afford to pay anyone to do this…”
Me: “Does that mean that you won’t mind a really half-assed job? I’m sure you should be able to find someone willing to just throw something together.”
-alternate form-
Me: “Do you expect me to show up on time, not hung over, and fully clothed? How about I do the talk for free and you pay me to get out of bed and look presentable.”
Them: “We can’t pay you but you’ll get exposure.”
Me: “The thing is more people already know who I am than who you are. So apparently I am doing OK on the exposure front. Sounds to me like you want to trade on my name to get ‘exposure’ yourself.
As a taxpayer I am already paying for the congresspeople once; it’s just offensive that they want me to do the job that I am paying them to do, pro bono.
Back around 9/11 I got a lot of feelers from the intelligence community trying to get advice and ideas, and I declined simply without elaborating. If I had a “do over” I’d say “I’m happy to work pro bono for the taxpayers, which means – I assume – that I get to publish anything that I do, right? If you want secrecy or confidentiality there’s a surcharge.”
Geeze, I have no idea how I got a reputation for being difficult.
komarov@#4:
b seems to imply that victims of sexual assault by politicians always get paid hush moneyfair and adequate compensation for what was no doubt a minor imposition.
B is badly worded. My unpaid interns don’t do a very good job of quality assurance, do they?
Heh, got all four correct. At my age its hard not to be cynical. And really, no one wants to see me as a senator. Im way too truthful for the job.
I hired a corrupt lawyer to answer the questions for me while I went out and played golf at the taxpayer’s expense. What do I win?
cartomancer@#10:
I hired a corrupt lawyer to answer the questions for me while I went out and played golf at the taxpayer’s expense. What do I win?
Senator? Nah. You’re vice-president at least. (You don’t make president unless you put the above in a tweet.)
I scored 5. There may be a problem with your use of the honor system. I suggest you be more cynical.
cartomancer@#10:
I hired a corrupt lawyer to answer the questions for me while I went out and played golf at the taxpayer’s expense. What do I win?
We have decided to name you King of Canada! Congratulations on a job, well, done.
Reginald Selkirk@#12:
I scored 5. There may be a problem with your use of the honor system.
Mr. President, our humble blog is honored by your presence!
Speaking of being more cynical….As a snide, comfortable, middle class professional trained to be afraid of crime, I and my friends laughed at the infamous Glitter Bomb Video. In which an Uber Techno Engineer jury rigged a trap for package thieves.
It appears that is was a little bit fudged…and not nearly as innocent as we might hope.
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2018/12/christmas-hucksterism-last-mile-supply-chain-safer-think.html
So many of the statistics regarding package theft…come straight from Google and other purveyors of home security systems!
(Naked Capitalism’s commentariate may be prone to Left Wing Trumpism, but that does not mean they are not one of my go-to sites for lefty economics)
Feels like the only appropriate response:
My score was a ██
I think I did ███████████████████████ you’re sending a very mixed message by using the honor system.