Some ideas for the future…
Face it, we are ALL to blame.
Most people are more interested in what is going on in Hollywood, then what is going on in Washington or Wall Street.
Corporations are preserved by Lawyers and Lobbyists.
The Lawyers write the “rules” so that no one can understand them, and the Lobbyists buy the “Representatives” so the “rules” are not re-written.
All our elected “Officials” are over paid by the taxpayers.
CBS News reported tonight that the average Senator makes $174,000 per year, and get Life Time Health benefits, and there are over 200 millionaires walking the Halls of Government, and it looks like more are coming, maybe even a billionaire (or two).
What to do?
I offer the following:
1] Start and maintain a List of Incumbents, so that “we” know who NOT to vote for in November.
- ‘Let’s Clean House’ – We can’t do worse than what is already in place.
2] Cut our Elected officials compensation and benefits (Health Care, Hair Cuts, Postage, Air Port Parking, etc.), so “they” are more like us.
3] Demand Term Limits – Somehow, get the President to sign “it” into Law immediately.
- Why is the President limited to two terms and no one else?’
- “Six Years and Out: Citizen Imposed Congressional Term Limits“
4] Removal of Lobbyists – Again, demand and get the president to sign an Emergency Law.
5] The Language of these Emergency Laws needs to be straight forward with NO exceptions.
- No elected official can server more than two terms. Period.
- No person, union, corporation, etc, can give more than $??? to a Party. Period.
- How much money is spent to get one person elected, when that same amount could be invested in jobs, education, infrastructure, etc.
- Maybe mandate a cap on election expenditures?
- All funds received by a candidate MUST be posted on a Central PUBLIC Website, and Audited on a regular basis by an independent entity. Period.
- All elected officials must post their operating budgets/expenses on the same website.
- How come Public Companies must publish their Expenses, but public officials do not?
- Many if “they” balanced their own budgets, then they would have an idea how to balance the federal budget.
6] Limit the amount of time a person can run for office.
- A similar idea to what is done in the UK.
- Most people I know are so sick of election “talk” by the time the elections arrive that they do not vote, or are so confused with the mudslinging, they blindly vote on the ballot.
7] Allow the Citizen of the US to cast votes of “No Confidence” in our Elected Officials.
- Clearly, there needs to be a shake-up within our government, and maybe, if “we the people” could vote “no confidence” then maybe, “they” will listen to US, the people.
- “The Failure of Financial Reform, Itemized“
8] No More Back Room Deals. Period.
- If a topic can’t be done or talked about in Public, then it can NOT be put in a Bill. Period.
9] No More “Pork” Amendments to Bills.
- Bills should be easy to ready and implement.
- If a Bill is about “A”, then ALL language in that Bill MUST be about “A”, not “X, Y, and Z”.
- Think of a the dead trees that are wasted on “Pork” Amendments
10] All citizens, especially the unemployed, start calling their representatives, and DEMAND Action!
- Flood the phone lines!
11] Maybe plan a march on Washington to really get the attention of our “Officials”.
- But that can’t happen for another 10 days… They are on a “break”…
- Anyone else reading this getting 10 days off for a single Holiday?
- Please Check your Signs for Spelling and Grammar!!
I have been ‘lurking’ on HP for the past several months, it is quite clear that most Americans are pissed at our “representatives”.
What really concerns me is that all this energy expended on e-complaining will not translate into any actions from now to November, and things will continue into slide deeper into the abyss.
- CC
Why are Politicians so LONG WINDED?
Watch C-Span some time when they are actually in session!
They spend their opening statements on ‘brown-nosing’ some, ‘I would like to thank the honorable such-and-such from where ever’…
Come on, get to the point!
You have an idea (maybe), just go ahead and talk about it!
Enough with the long winded BS!
Your long windedness just cost the American tax payer approximately $1.40/min times the number of “Representative” in the chamber, plus what ever you are paying the various ‘aids’ that are running around for you, so you can pontificate on what ever.
Heaven forbid that someone interrupt the main speaker!
Now we are into the tit-for-tat situation.
If we could harness the hot air expelled by politicians, we might have a chance at over coming the energy crisis, but then again, maybe they are more directly responsible for global warming they we realize…
- CC
CxOs, Government and You
What really ticks me off when I see/hear the C-levels making multi-millions of dollars when they are “asked to resign”…
Recently I saw that in the 50s and 60s, the ratio of the CEO’s pay to the lowest paid workers was about 50 to 1, whereas now days, it is somewhere between to 250-400+ to 1…
Most American’s do not realize that a person making a million dollars year equals approximately $8.33 per minute.
- The Federal Minimal Wage rate at $7.25/hour is slightly more then $0.12/min, or approximately 69:1
Will the Congress or Senate do anything about this?
No, they are too corrupted with Special Interest groups to really work or care for the average person/voter…
How can “they”, Congress and Senate, represent “the people”, when most of them make 3-5+ times the average worker and have Premium Health Care and other benefits that my taxes paid for…
- The mean US household income in 2007 was $50,233, with 46 million people uninsured.
- Average salary for a Representative: $165,200/year or $1.38/min or 11.5:1
- They were only in session 103 days in 2006 -
“The ‘Do-Nothing Congress’ – Big Salary, Little Work, Free Trips“
- They were only in session 103 days in 2006 -
- Health Care for U.S. Congress — Politicians Receive the Country’s Best Care – at Taxpayers’ Expense
Why can’t the “Representatives” actually lead for once, cut their salaries and benefits, and work an honest 50 weeks a year, like the rest of “the people”.
This might encourage others to do the same!
It will never happen…
Remember years ago something called:
- Campaign Finance Reform?
- How about Terms Limits?
Has anything really come of these efforts?
The Greed of Power and Money is far too entrenched in the American Government and Society today…
— CC
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