US Congress members make a whopping $608 per hour. Not even a high class escort makes that much [Chart]

As if we didn’t already know that politicians are prostitutes to the highest order, these stats will only reinforce the fact that being a member of Congress is equivalent too, if not better than, being a high class escort in LA or Vegas.
Via Zerohedge:

On the surface, earning $174,000 per year, while putting one solidly in the top 10% of all US earners, does not sound like much. This happens to be the 2014 allocated wage of America’s elected political representatives, the members of the House of Representatives. And indeed, in the grand scheme of things it isn’t much… until one considers that in the 102-day period between August 1 and November 12, this wage will be “earned” for just working a paltry 8 days, which, presuming 10 hour workdays, amounts to a whopping $608 per hour, on par with what some of America’s most prominent lawyers earn. It is also several times the hourly compensation of anesthesiologists, one of the highest-earning professions, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, at $113 an hour on average.

The $608 an hour calculation was brought to light by none other than Ralph Nader, who sent an angry letter to the always suntanned Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).
From The Hill:

“While millions of Americans are working more and more for less and less, you and your House of Representatives seem to have no problem working less and less for more and more,” he wrote.
Nader calculated that Boehner, who earns $223,500 a year as Speaker, will earn roughly $781 per hour over a three-and-half month span, given Congress worked only eight days. Boehner has a higher salary than rank-and-file members.
Lawmakers and their aides rebut Nader’s claim by arguing that time spent in Washington is only part of their job. The other part is meeting with and serving constituents back in their home districts and states. That’s why they call the time away state and district “work periods.”

The ironic part is that not even Obama, who seems to be on a golf holiday every other week, is buying the “work periods” dribble. From Zerohedge:

Obama scolded lawmakers on Aug. 2 for going “on vacation” without passing legislation to raise the minimum wage or reduce interest on student loans.
Yes, we too find it ironic for Obama to be bashing others’ vacation practices, but in this case he happens to be right: because if there is one job that is more useless than that of the US GOTUS, it is that of a US politican, whose “work” is laid out as follows:
The House left for a five-week vacation from Washington on Aug. 1 and didn’t return until Sept. 8. After two four-day workweeks, it left again Thursday and is not due to return until Nov. 12.
The Senate worked a similar schedule. It took the same break as the House in August and also worked only two weeks in September before leaving Washington to campaign for the midterm elections.

While $174,000 per year, for a few hours of work a week, would be a dream job for 99% of human kind, most of, if not all of the members of Congress, are millionaires many times over, earning big money from bribes, kickbacks and other “lobbying” funds.
The chart below shows the 50 richest members of Congress, who all have a net worth of $7.5 million or higher.

References:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-09-23/americas-politicians-earn-608-hour