Why should the Federal Government make more money than the average American? If they are really in it for the people, not the money, then they should take home what the average American gets paid.
Working class Americans, do you get paid more than your boss? No, so why should the government, that works for us, take home more money? We already pay for their protection, vacations, food, etc. I think if they left government after their term and had to work in this economy, they might just try a little harder to solve the problems.
The average income for an individual as of 2012 is somewhere around $30,000, so I would like to see them cut back to this amount. As you fix the economy and our pay increases so will yours. A government "For the People" would do this.