Remembering one of Marjorie Taylor Greene's worst moments of 2023

Marjorie Taylor Greene has said and done a lot of questionable things in 2023 but one of the most irritating moments of her time in office during the year was her complaints about how miserable becoming a member of Congress made her.

The Georgia Republican was taken to task by her political detractors in February over her complaint that life as a highly paid Member of Congress had made her miserable, gripping on a podcast about her job and salary.

“Becoming a member of Congress has made my life miserable,” Greene said during an interview with Gleen Greenwald on the journalist's podcast System Update. 

“I made a lot more money before I got here. I’ve lost money since I’ve gotten here,” Greene added, which seemed to spark a wave of criticism from all sides of the political spectrum. 

If you didn't know already, Members of Congress made $174,000 per year when Greene complained to Greenwald about her salary. That's based on data from the U.S. House of Representatives at the time.

Greene was making roughly $120,000 more than the average American was when she went off about her job and compensation according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from when Greene made her silly remarks.

“It’s not a life that I think is like something that I enjoy because I don’t enjoy it, but I’m committed to this job because I believe in it,” Greene continued to explain Greenwald. 

“The nature of this job, it keeps members of Congress and senators in Washington so much of the time,” Greene said, “too much of the time to be honest with you.”

Greene seemed to be most upset about how her “demanding” job was keeping her from enjoying time with her friends and family. 

“We don’t get to go home and spend more time with our families, our friends … or maybe just be regular people because this job is so demanding,” Green said. “It’s turned into practically year-round.”

Members of Congress generally spend 145 days in session in Washington out of a possible 261 yearly work days, which is far less than your average American worker and far less than the average small business owner which is a fact Greene should know. 

Prior to running for Congress, Greene had co-founded a Crossfit affiliate gym, which must have had a larger time obligation than that of her congressional position. 

Twitter roasted Greene for her politically brain-dead comments with one user telling her to “step aside if it isn’t too cushy of a job for you” according to The Independent. But few really pointed out the real issues with Greene’s comments. 

Congressional representatives are not only compensated with great salaries but also with a wide variety of post-office perks, some of which last for life. 

“Our nation's legislators get a slew of lifetime benefits even after leaving office,” wrote Axios’ Shane Savitsky, “including a taxpayer-funded gym at the Capitol, access to the House and Senate floors, parking in House lots, and the ability to dine in the House and Senate dining rooms.”

Savitsky also pointed out that Members of Congress are also usually entitled to a lifelong pension of roughly $139,000 depending on their age and time of service, so Greene will be making off with a lot more money than all the trouble she'd had to deal with since being elected to office. 

Members of Congress are also required to purchase insurance via the Affordable Care Act according to Stavitsky, but they get a federal subsidy that covers about 72% of their health insurance premiums.

“They're also potentially eligible for lifetime health insurance under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program upon retirement,” Stavisky added—a perk we’re sure Margorie Taylor Greene will find a way to complain about in the future.