Congress is supposed to be a body of public servants -- people who pass up more lucrative professions for a chance to influence policy and improve constituents' lives.

These days, however, it is getting harder to see the sacrifice in congressional service. An extraordinary number of representatives and senators -- well beyond the proverbial few bad apples -- are devising schemes to supplement their annual $165,200 benefit-rich pay packages.

The schemes, often entered into with a breathtaking audacity and sense of personal entitlement, are corrosive to democracy, injurious to the reputations of the many honest and diligent lawmakers, and illustrative of the adage that power corrupts.