as we all wait to see the result of the so named fiscal cliff or preventative legislation, i have been thinking of possible solutions to our national spending spree. it came to my mind that a good place to start might be with the salaries of the very people who continue to drive our nation to financial ruin. members of the senate and house are paid one hundred seventy four thousand dollars per year. party leaders in both houses make just over one hundred ninety three thousand per year, and the speaker of the house tops out at two hundred twenty three thousand and five hundred dollars annually. why should those who are given the priveledge of public service benefit so greatly for it, when the evidence shows again and again that they vote for special interest groups instead of the will of thier own constituency? i would propose that all federal public servants be paid  at the median salary of the public, being fifty thousand and fifty four dollars annually. this number comes from the census burea for those interested in the source.  if such a change were implemented, the cost of the salaries of our representatives would be twenty four and a quarter million, just over actually, per year. this as opposed to the eighty four and a half million we pay them annually now. a savings of sixty and a quarter million. this would accomplish two things. one, a cut in our spending, albeit small. two it would remind these men and women we choose to represent us in washington that it is a priveledge to provide service to the people, not a career, not a family tradition, but a priviledge that comes with trust and expectations.  if an accused person shall be tried by a jury of his peers, then why not we represented by the same. furthermore, if such cuts were extended to cabinet positions, the presidency, federal judges, and all other high ranking public servants, the savings would continue to increase.