NY Times pooh-poohs congressmen foregoing salary during gov't shutdown

Several senators and representatives have pledged to either have forego their congressional salary or donate it to charity, so long as the federal government is shutdown (we're on three days now). The New York Times is unimpressed.

From an editorial titled, "Phony-Self-Denial in Congress":

With hundreds of thousands of idled federal workers unpaid and unsure if they might ever be paid, lawmakers are left to making gestures in lieu of doing a more effective job for their $174,000 annual salary, which the Constitution mandates regardless of the shutdown. ...

The wealth in Congress is bipartisan if that’s any comfort to the millions of Americans already suffering the loss of government-paid nutrition and Head Start programs. Multimillionaires in both chambers are vowing to protect the people, including the House Republicans who brought about this ideologically driven fiscal calamity. ... It’s well past time for lawmaking that’s constructive, not destructive, if Congress is to deserve its paycheck.

@eScarry