While Americans across the country are counting pennies, concerned about keeping a steady paycheck, lawmakers are getting a pay raise.

Elected officials giving themselves a pay raise is rarely popular, especially if you have an approval rating hovering around 10% (which is where it is now). Just ask the Pennsylvania state legislators that got voted out of office in 2005 after they stealthily increased their pay in the dark of the night. The legislature beat a hasty retreat a few months later but more than 20 lawmakers lost their elections over it.

Congress conveniently avoids the headache because back in 1989 the House set it up to make the pay raise automatic. The only way to stop the raise is to force a vote on it and both parties are loathe to let that happen. Some intrepid lawmakers like Reps. Mitchell (D-AZ), Paul (R-TX), Matheson (D-UT) and Sen. Feingold (D-WI) have introduced separate legislation to undo the process or stop a raise, only to find that their bills die an ignoble death in committee.

So good job, bad job, productive, do-nothing – Congress gets its automatic pay increase no matter what.

We recognize that if we are to have talented citizens serve in the legislature, we do need to compensate them appropriately. Most lawmakers maintain two residences and work long hours. So it isn’t that Congress should never get a pay raise. But this cynical system of auto-raises means that Congress is pocketing an additional $4700 while thousands of their constituents are getting pink slips.

To regain some credibility and demonstrate shared sacrifice, Congress should immediately move to suspend the pay raise and swear them off until the economy is in full recovery. Or until the unemployment rate is well below 5%. Or both.

There is recent precedent for a contingent raise. When the Democrats took control in the 110th Congress, they voted not to take a raise until the minimum wage was increased. After that happened, they took their raise. Right now many Americans can’t even get a minimum wage job, so this seems to be a good time for similar action.

Congress needs to act to stop this raise. But in the meantime, some lawmakers are pledging to contribute their raise to local charities. There is no doubt that non-profits are hurting because of less charitable giving due to the economy. But giving to a charity also represents a win-win-win for lawmakers. The pay raise boosts their future pension benefits, they get a tax deduction for the contribution and they get the public relations boost of giving to a local charity. The better option is that lawmakers contribute their raise back to the Treasury to help pay down the $10.5 trillion debt.

At $4700 per member, or roughly $2.5 million, this is not a ton of money in the context of a trillion dollar deficit. But forgoing the raise while the country is in dire economic times would send a powerful message to the country that their elected officials understand the economic pain that we are all feeling and are ready to share that pain.