Originally Posted by Sly

Linda Sánchez, a Democratic representative from California, said during an MSNBC interview that she was living "paycheck to paycheck" on her congressional salary. And she wasn't the only one. Renee Ellmers, a Republican representative from North Carolina, was asked if she would forgo her pay in the case of a shutdown. Ellmers declined, saying, "I need my paycheck."

Are times really so tough that even members of Congress are struggling to get by? The numbers suggest otherwise. A recent analysis of congressional pay found that members of Congress earn about 3.4 times the salary of the average American worker. Using that standard, members of Congress are among the highest paid legislators in the developed world.