You need to check your numbers on Congressional retirement and health packages. They have the same retirement and health package as any other federal employee. Which means a 2-term Representative doesn't get any retirement at all - there's a 5 year vesting and then it's based on paying and time in service. And their health plan is just plane jane private insurance. In fact my congressman pays about $50/month more than I do in private industry for the same Blue Cross coverage. Agree about the Athlete's (and entertainers in general) pay to military, teachers, police... All the sweet deal retirement and health benefits went away in 1984-1985.

yeah - how about we let them get treated the way we are treated..... let the treasury to declare bankruptcy, take the retirement and reallocate that (kind of like what happened to united in the 90's), then a pay cut - but after eliminating one in three since the FE is no longer needed, then lets make a mandatory retirement age of 65- so just when they are making awesome money they too need to step down. And they need to do recurrent training - every 6 months and pass an oral, practical and written exam...alcohol and drug testing and, what the hell, check their background and just like the ATP criterion - they must be of good moral character. My guess is that we will be left with about 20 or so guys on capitol hill. :)

Although, athletes create a hell of a lot of jobs.

Two F-16's took off from KGYH and went supersonic in less than a minute. Rattled windows in my office about 5 miles away. Remember it explicitly even though it was 20 years or so ago. Of course I though it was cool as hell. Everybody else was under their desks. LOL.