to politic or not to politic
This will likely only interest US Citizens.
Most of you who know me know I generally try to stay out of polical discussions. I can't help myself here.
What's below the cuts?
My own opinion on the government, media and public, at least in relationship to what I consider are some core elements. Also a link to a petition related to congressional reform.
What it is NOT is partisan (at least, I hope not). I am not trying to play politics or further divide us - I am actually hoping that these are things folks from any party might agree with.
I love the U.S.A., I do. I'm not, and have never been, the type to run around waving a flag, or to claim America is the best nation ever (I find that statement ignorant at best, borderline offensive at worst). But I do believe that we are built on some fantastic fundamentals - like checks and balances, separation of church and state etc. - that make for a great nation.
But boy, do I think we've been corrupted. Individual issues (like the debt etc.) aside, the inaction of congress alone over the last few years, in the face of a nation in crisis, is enough to make me believe that every member of congress should be kicked out and forbidden from ever serving in elected or public office again.
Serving in congress is meant to be an honor, but Instead we've allowed our politicians to make careers of it. Instead of representing the people, we now have a congress that gives us platitudes and distractions at election time to gain the people's vote, then turns around and makes deals with major corporations and represents them instead of the public. I haven't talked to many people who don't seem to agree that campaign finance reform is needed, who isn't angry at congress in some way. It's so bad, it's become a joke.
But here's the thing: Why should they do more than the bare minimum, why should they change, when we continue to re-elect them?
Most of us seem to have either forgotten, or maybe just trusted that others would handle it, that being part of a republic demands citizen awareness and participation, both at the voting booths and beyond.
We talk to each other and we agree X isn't great, but hey, he's from my party, not that other party, so I'll vote for him again.
We talk to each other and we agree that congress sucks, and finance/campaign/tax/whatever reform is needed - but we don't tell our representative our opinion.
I'm guilty of this too, absolutely I am. But I am more concerned each day that we are setting ourselves up to collapse, for things to get so bad that the only route left for change is another revolution or civil war. In a nation like this, that shouldn't ever be necessary.
So my point is this; let's stop letting ourselves get distracted by the blame game and divisive politics, and start focusing on demanding action, and ensuring our representatives know how we feel and what we want from them. I honestly don't care who you vote for or what your stance on various issues are in this; whatever they are, speak up on them. Don't like the job your representative is doing? Don't re-elect them. There are other parties beyond Democrat and Republican - find someone you think you can believe in and cast your vote there. Forget the notion that voting for a third party is throwing your vote away: if people do and continue to do this, then it won't be true, and if enough people do it, then at the very least it should send a message to congress.
To that end. Someone recently forwarded me an email that, I thought, had some really good ideas in it. The email talked about taking action and demanding change, and forwarding it to 20 other people each so that the whole country would get it quickly - but it neglected to mention the next step. It neglected to say 'oh, yeah, and if you want this, tell your representative, not just the people you email it to”
So I took the core ideas and put them into a petition at the government's petition website.
Here's are the original ideas, as phrased in the email (Please note, I have not fact-checked the salaries listed, I have also removed some text that I feel is unnecessary to my purposes here):
//Email Text //
Salary of retired US Presidents . . . . . . . . . .. . $180,000 FOR LIFE
Salary of House/Senate members . . . . . . . . $174,000 FOR LIFE This is stupid
Salary of Speaker of the House . . . . . . . . .$223,500 FOR LIFE This is really stupid
Salary of Majority/Minority Leaders . . . . . . . . $193,400 FOR LIFE Ditto last line
Average Salary of a teacher . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. $40,065
Average Salary of a deployed Soldier . . . . . .. . $38,000
I think we found where the cuts should be made! If you agree pass it on, I just did.
Warren Buffet, in a recent interview with CNBC, offers one of the best quotes about the debt ceiling:
"I could end the deficit in 5 minutes," he told CNBC.
"You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election.
Congressional Reform Act of 2014
1. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they're out of office.
2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 12/1/14.
The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women.
Congress made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home
and back to work.
//Email Text //
As mentioned, I took the core ideas here - points 1-7, and stuck them in a government petition. If you're not familiar with the petition site, the white house has said it will respond to any petition with over 100,000 signatures. Deadline for this one (to reach 100,000) is Oct. 9th. You may note that I had to significantly simplify the text of each point in order to meet the ridiculously short 800 character limit, but I hope I managed to do so without undermining the core of any of the ideas.
Here is the link to the petition:
http://wh.gov/iqIpG
So I wouldn't normally do this, but I'm asking; if you like the above, if you agree with the points, please sign the petition, and pass it along. Or write your congressman about it. Or both. Do I have a lot of faith just creating the petition or writing the government will make it happen? No - but I do think if enough people do it, and keep demanding it, and cast their votes to back up their opinions that things will change? Yes.
ETA 9/13/14
joanwilder did a quick fact check and found this info :
http://www.senate.gov/reference/common/faq/retirement_for_members.shtml
which refutes the statements in the email/petition regarding congressional members social security participation.
Thank you to her, for fact-checking, and a shame on me for not.
I won't deny i'm bad a fact-checking; it's always been a weak point for me and it's one of the biggest things i'll have to change, persionally, to start getting more involved in gov't as I'd like. I could go on an entirely seperate rant here about my views on how the news media has degraded over the years and is now only playing into divisive politics and a lack of focus, attention and action in the public.
But I'll hold off on that, for now. My point, with this edit, is to point out the correction found above, and to add that I would hope that it does not stop people from taking home my key points on this post. Even if every one of the petition points were to be prooven inaccurate (I think most of them still stand; i plan to fact check more next week, so if anyone finds other issues in the meantime, please let me know) -- even if they were all invalidated, my ultimate purpose with this post was to make the following two points:
1. Right now, the voices being heard on most issues are the extremists from either end. We're allowing divisive politics, encouraged by a lot of sources, to divide us, which gridlocks everything. Let's start finding things we can agree on from a non-partisan stance and start demanding them.
But also, and more importantly-
2. Unless we step up more as individuals and speak to our government about what we want, educate ourselves and get involved, nothing will change. Next time you're in a conversation about politics, don't just leave it there - do something to get your opinion heard by those in power. Educate yourself about the available candidates and cast your vote for someone you really believe in (to the best of your ability with the information available), rather than just voting along party lines (or not voting). I would really urge folks to seek out information beyond ad campaigns and biased media reports on candidates. Vote in more elections; party primaries if you can, local elections. My point is: This is our responsibility as citizens to the republic, and most of us have been lax in it.
Most of you who know me know I generally try to stay out of polical discussions. I can't help myself here.
What's below the cuts?
My own opinion on the government, media and public, at least in relationship to what I consider are some core elements. Also a link to a petition related to congressional reform.
What it is NOT is partisan (at least, I hope not). I am not trying to play politics or further divide us - I am actually hoping that these are things folks from any party might agree with.
I love the U.S.A., I do. I'm not, and have never been, the type to run around waving a flag, or to claim America is the best nation ever (I find that statement ignorant at best, borderline offensive at worst). But I do believe that we are built on some fantastic fundamentals - like checks and balances, separation of church and state etc. - that make for a great nation.
But boy, do I think we've been corrupted. Individual issues (like the debt etc.) aside, the inaction of congress alone over the last few years, in the face of a nation in crisis, is enough to make me believe that every member of congress should be kicked out and forbidden from ever serving in elected or public office again.
Serving in congress is meant to be an honor, but Instead we've allowed our politicians to make careers of it. Instead of representing the people, we now have a congress that gives us platitudes and distractions at election time to gain the people's vote, then turns around and makes deals with major corporations and represents them instead of the public. I haven't talked to many people who don't seem to agree that campaign finance reform is needed, who isn't angry at congress in some way. It's so bad, it's become a joke.
But here's the thing: Why should they do more than the bare minimum, why should they change, when we continue to re-elect them?
Most of us seem to have either forgotten, or maybe just trusted that others would handle it, that being part of a republic demands citizen awareness and participation, both at the voting booths and beyond.
We talk to each other and we agree X isn't great, but hey, he's from my party, not that other party, so I'll vote for him again.
We talk to each other and we agree that congress sucks, and finance/campaign/tax/whatever reform is needed - but we don't tell our representative our opinion.
I'm guilty of this too, absolutely I am. But I am more concerned each day that we are setting ourselves up to collapse, for things to get so bad that the only route left for change is another revolution or civil war. In a nation like this, that shouldn't ever be necessary.
So my point is this; let's stop letting ourselves get distracted by the blame game and divisive politics, and start focusing on demanding action, and ensuring our representatives know how we feel and what we want from them. I honestly don't care who you vote for or what your stance on various issues are in this; whatever they are, speak up on them. Don't like the job your representative is doing? Don't re-elect them. There are other parties beyond Democrat and Republican - find someone you think you can believe in and cast your vote there. Forget the notion that voting for a third party is throwing your vote away: if people do and continue to do this, then it won't be true, and if enough people do it, then at the very least it should send a message to congress.
To that end. Someone recently forwarded me an email that, I thought, had some really good ideas in it. The email talked about taking action and demanding change, and forwarding it to 20 other people each so that the whole country would get it quickly - but it neglected to mention the next step. It neglected to say 'oh, yeah, and if you want this, tell your representative, not just the people you email it to”
So I took the core ideas and put them into a petition at the government's petition website.
Here's are the original ideas, as phrased in the email (Please note, I have not fact-checked the salaries listed, I have also removed some text that I feel is unnecessary to my purposes here):
//Email Text //
Salary of retired US Presidents . . . . . . . . . .. . $180,000 FOR LIFE
Salary of House/Senate members . . . . . . . . $174,000 FOR LIFE This is stupid
Salary of Speaker of the House . . . . . . . . .$223,500 FOR LIFE This is really stupid
Salary of Majority/Minority Leaders . . . . . . . . $193,400 FOR LIFE Ditto last line
Average Salary of a teacher . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. $40,065
Average Salary of a deployed Soldier . . . . . .. . $38,000
I think we found where the cuts should be made! If you agree pass it on, I just did.
Warren Buffet, in a recent interview with CNBC, offers one of the best quotes about the debt ceiling:
"I could end the deficit in 5 minutes," he told CNBC.
"You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election.
Congressional Reform Act of 2014
1. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they're out of office.
2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 12/1/14.
The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women.
Congress made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home
and back to work.
//Email Text //
As mentioned, I took the core ideas here - points 1-7, and stuck them in a government petition. If you're not familiar with the petition site, the white house has said it will respond to any petition with over 100,000 signatures. Deadline for this one (to reach 100,000) is Oct. 9th. You may note that I had to significantly simplify the text of each point in order to meet the ridiculously short 800 character limit, but I hope I managed to do so without undermining the core of any of the ideas.
Here is the link to the petition:
http://wh.gov/iqIpG
So I wouldn't normally do this, but I'm asking; if you like the above, if you agree with the points, please sign the petition, and pass it along. Or write your congressman about it. Or both. Do I have a lot of faith just creating the petition or writing the government will make it happen? No - but I do think if enough people do it, and keep demanding it, and cast their votes to back up their opinions that things will change? Yes.
ETA 9/13/14
joanwilder did a quick fact check and found this info :
http://www.senate.gov/reference/common/faq/retirement_for_members.shtml
which refutes the statements in the email/petition regarding congressional members social security participation.
Thank you to her, for fact-checking, and a shame on me for not.
I won't deny i'm bad a fact-checking; it's always been a weak point for me and it's one of the biggest things i'll have to change, persionally, to start getting more involved in gov't as I'd like. I could go on an entirely seperate rant here about my views on how the news media has degraded over the years and is now only playing into divisive politics and a lack of focus, attention and action in the public.
But I'll hold off on that, for now. My point, with this edit, is to point out the correction found above, and to add that I would hope that it does not stop people from taking home my key points on this post. Even if every one of the petition points were to be prooven inaccurate (I think most of them still stand; i plan to fact check more next week, so if anyone finds other issues in the meantime, please let me know) -- even if they were all invalidated, my ultimate purpose with this post was to make the following two points:
1. Right now, the voices being heard on most issues are the extremists from either end. We're allowing divisive politics, encouraged by a lot of sources, to divide us, which gridlocks everything. Let's start finding things we can agree on from a non-partisan stance and start demanding them.
But also, and more importantly-
2. Unless we step up more as individuals and speak to our government about what we want, educate ourselves and get involved, nothing will change. Next time you're in a conversation about politics, don't just leave it there - do something to get your opinion heard by those in power. Educate yourself about the available candidates and cast your vote for someone you really believe in (to the best of your ability with the information available), rather than just voting along party lines (or not voting). I would really urge folks to seek out information beyond ad campaigns and biased media reports on candidates. Vote in more elections; party primaries if you can, local elections. My point is: This is our responsibility as citizens to the republic, and most of us have been lax in it.