Speaker of the House Mike Johnson recently said that he could understand why members of Congress might feel the need to participate in stock trading, because the position of U.S. representative is underpaid. Yet the federal minimum wage has not been increased since 2009, and he has voted against increases multiple times.
The vast majority of Louisianians make less than he does. Teachers in Louisiana make quite a bit less (about $54,000 a year) than he does, which is $174,000 a year. I'm sorry, but is Johnson doing more for our country than our teachers are? Public education was created based on the theory that a democracy can only function with a well-educated populace. Johnson and all of the other politicians should surrender their salaries to the teachers of Louisiana, and they would if they cared about our kids and our country. Instead, they dismantle the education system and cry about how being public representatives prevents them from making money.
The newspaper has not commented on this at all or the corruption of Louisiana's politicians, who are more worried about being in Trump's good graces than Louisianans being able to feed their families, let alone compensate teachers and other essential workers equally.
The Louisiana Republican Party hates working people, regardless of what they profess. They are anti-worker, refusing to increase the minimum wage to a living wage, while they pull in salaries most of us wish we had.
It's interesting how Speaker Johnson and his Louisiana supporters show such disdain for the poor and working class of Louisiana, while professing their Christian faith and claiming that their gerrymandering is anything but racist.
Readers, remember, the first lawfully elected Black government of Louisiana was violently overthrown by White "Christians" who believed in White supremacy.
If they care about getting rich, then they don't care about us.
BART FROST
New Orleans