address lifetime salaries of retired members Congress and retired US presidents.

Currently, retired US presidents earn $450,000 for life, retired House and Senate members earn $174,000 for life, the Speaker of the House earns $223,000 for life, and the majority/minority leaders earn $193,400 for life. This occurs while the average salary of a soldier deployed in Afghanistan is $38,000 and the average income of a person on social security is $12,000 (with possible cuts in the future). Those that serve in Congress are more than capable of earning income after serving in the government with backgrounds including law, education, and accounting. In addition to this, Congress votes on their own raises. I propose that cuts should be made to retirement benefits for members of Congress and any increase in the salary of members of Congress should be voted on by the people.