Doesn't pass the "Ummmmm" test

The best Sergeant Major with whom I ever served had a phrase for those things we encounter that are just dumber than dirt.  When we'd face such a situation, he'd say, "Sir, that doesn't pass the Ummmmm test."  The "Ummmmm" test means when we see something really, really dumb, we have a tendency to say, "Ummmmm" while shaking our heads in disbelief.

Well, the following doesn't pass the "Ummmmm" test.

According to a recent piece in the Washington Post, in our illustrious Congress, the House of Representatives works an average of 139 days per year, with the Senate somewhat better at working an average of 156 days per year.  After reading those numbers, I sat down and did a little back of the envelope calculations.

Normally, in the business world, a full-time job is defined as 2,080 hours per year, which works out to 260 eight hour days per year.  Continuing, I looked at the 2014 calendar and counted 104 weekend days, which when added to 260 working days equals our roughly 364 days in an annual calendar.

Of course, there are the 10 federal holidays, which are normally paid holidays, so the 260 actual work days are reduced to 250 days.  Being generous employers, let's say we give the members of Congress the entire Thanksgiving week off with pay, which adds 4 days to the Thanksgiving federal holiday, thereby reducing the number of working days to 246.  Since we are "one nation under God," we are particularly generous employers in providing for two weeks of paid time off over Christmas and New Years, which adds 8 days to the Christmas and New Year's Day federal holidays.  This, then, brings the number of work days down to 238 days.  And, recognizing how challenging it is for the members of Congress, we provide for 10 days of paid annual vacation, thus bringing the number of days we expect them to actually work down to 228.  228 work days per year.

Let's see, then, how it actually works out.  The House of Representatives average number of work days is roughly 61% of the above, with the Senate coming in at roughly 68%.  So it's possible to observe the members of Congress work about two-thirds of the expected number of days we, their employers, require.  (And don't even begin to think they actually work a full 8 hour day each of the average work days.)

Working two-thirds of the expected number of work days doesn't pass the "Ummmmm" test in my mind.

What should we, the employers do?  Dock their pay by one-third?  Fire them?  Take away the paid vacation time?  Take away our generosity of paid time off at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years?  Limit their travels to their home districts and states?

Frankly, I prefer just firing the lot of them and hiring new employees, who would have to execute binding contracts for the number of days they work, in Washington DC, on our behalf.  Seems to me that adding one-third more labor might enable our Congress to actually get more work done.