Congress To Give Free Peloton Memberships To Staffers
Bo Banks
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While Americans struggle to make ends meet thanks to sky-rocketing gas prices and inflation, The House of Representatives plans to give staffers in Washington, D.C., and district offices across the country free Peloton memberships.
As you could expect, this plan has already been met with enormous backlash. As this move comes off as nothing shy of “tone-deaf” in light of all other, more important problems currently facing the country.
A draft email from the office of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) confirms that these free memberships are a “premier employee benefit.”
Per the email, the reported plan would give 12,300 people both Peloton “All-Access” and a Peloton App membership at a maximum cost of $120,000 per month. All at the expense of taxpayers, of course. Staffers would pay nothing.
Desperate parents can't find baby formula – Congress has yet to take action…..BUT
Lawmakers can now order liquor directly to their Capitol Hill offices
Lawmakers & staff will now have free access to the Peloton app— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) May 13, 2022
Peloton is a high-end spin class that can cost upwards of $2,000 for the bike and another $40 a month for a membership that gives users access to live and recorded classes. Actual costs would be dependent on how many staffers signed up for the Peloton service.
As Fox Business reported:
“The contract cost is a $10,000 upfront payment to Peloton, plus an extra $10 per month charge for each staffer or officer that utilizes the benefit.”
“For other Americans, a Peloton All-Access Membership costs $39 per month and a Peloton App Membership costs $12.99 per month,” the report continued.
It’s not just the cost of these memberships that have people upset, but also the message it sends.
At a time when many Americans are struggling to make ends meet, it looks tone-deaf for members of Congress to be getting free memberships to an elitist workout regimen. For what reason anyway?
And while some may argue that $120,000 is a drop in the bucket compared to the trillions of dollars the government spends each year, it’s still a waste of taxpayer money when there are more pressing issues that need to be addressed.
Some of these issues include the baby formula shortage, which has caused mothers to ration out their supplies and even resort to using powdered milk; the ongoing gas crisis, which has seen prices surge in recent weeks; and inflation, which is eating away at people’s incomes.
Can't get baby formula, but house staff now has free membership to pelaton at the cost of $480,000 per month that we are paying
— Beth Barnhill (@BethBarnhill4) May 13, 2022
In light of all this, it’s hard to see how giving free Peloton memberships to Congress staffers can be justified. Perhaps if the country was in a better place economically, this wouldn’t be such a big deal. But as it stands, it’s hard to see how this is anything other than a PR disaster waiting to happen.
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