Congressman's Lament: $174,000 Isn't Enough To Make Ends Meet --- In what world does an annual salary of $174,000 meet the definition of underpaid? -- That would be in the nation's capital, where soon-to-be-retired Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., said Americans should know that their members of Congress — as the board of directors for the "largest economic entity in the world" — are underpaid. -- The longtime congressman made his comments Thursday after the House voted for the sixth straight year to deny members an automatic cost-of-living raise they're entitled to under law. -- Not surprisingly, reaction to Moran's assertion was swift and derisive. -- "Tone deaf," wrote Daniel Doherty at the conservative Town Hall website. -- "The guy is retiring and has apparently gone Bulworth after getting his pension info," said the liberal Huffington Post, referring to the 1998 movie featuring a politician who goes rogue and speaks without a filter. (With one big difference: Bulworth, played by Warren Beatty, addresses racial and economic divisions, not congressional pay.) --- Though Moran's comments may be politically tone deaf given Congress' dismal approval ratings and the fact that the median household income in the U.S. is $51,000, compensation experts like Pete Smith say the guy has a point. - More, NPR, at: http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2014/04/04/299078253/congressmans-lament-174-000-isnt-enough-to-make-ends-meet