Congress, says Sen. John McCain, is "spending money like a drunken sailor," and you can't help but wish the Arizona Republican were exaggerating.
If anything, it falls short of describing an astonishing profligacy that must be stopped and reversed. How? Here is one way: young voters.
The chief reason Congress is spending the country into deep, dark peril is politics. The hope is that if you throw lots of money out there, votes will bounce back. Thus it was that Congress passed a prescription-drug bill that could cost trillions of dollars over the decades to come. Most of the elderly in this country appear to want this gift, even though most are perfectly capable of taking care of their own drug needs. But Congress gives the elderly what they want because the elderly are disciplined, regular voters, and those who will be crushed by the costs — young adults — are not.
So here's the deal, young adults. If you don't start voting in large numbers and watching out after the interests of you and your children, your future will take place in a low-growth, job-deprived, super-taxed economy in which even those of you who earn very little will be transferring substantial portions of your income to America's wealthiest age group. Because the new drug entitlement goes to all Medicare recipients, some beneficiaries will be millionaires, even billionaires.
Replacing this extravagance with a sensible program would not mean disregarding those in need, whose problems could be addressed at a fraction of the cost.
Perhaps one reason the young have a poor record of showing up at the polls is that they don't think the actions of government matter much to them.
Wrong. Very wrong. Or maybe they don't think they can make much difference. Again, wrong. Very wrong.
If young adults alert to what's best for them and the country were to vote in percentages proportionate to the elderly, they could do a huge favor for everyone. They could make a dangerously reckless Congress sober up.
Nevr Wong posted at 11:46 pm on Mon, Apr 11, 2011.
When the people elect / hire a person to perform the duties of a public office, there is a reasonable expectation that those duties will be performed without discrimination or a conflict of interest. There is a reasonable expectation that the government will function using the Constitution of the United States as the guide lines for the policies, practices and procedures in the performance of the duties of any public office.
Congress has violated the people's reasonable expectations.
Congress has taken funds from the Social Security Retirement Trust Fund. They have not paid back what they took from the trust fund.
Congress has used public funds for "bail out" relief of financial institutions that have committed fraud and embezzlement in home mortgage transactions. This scam has resulted in millions of families losing their homes.
Congress has taken gratuity from lobbyists who worked for the financial institutions which is a conflict of interest.
Congress has written legislation that discriminates in income tax processing.
Congress discriminates in the application of legislation in regard to Congressional policies, practices and procedures to those of the general public.
It is clear that the Congress is a broken system that must be rebuilt. Congress should not be paid until such time that their policies practices and procedures meet the public's reasonable expectations of the people that elected / hired them.
If Congress fails to begin rebuilding their broken system, then they should be sent to prison for fraud, embezzlement and treason.
WANT TO FIX CONGRESS!!!!!
Let’s demand that congress pass the “Congressional Reform Act of 2011”
1. Term Limits. 12 years only, one of the possible options below:
A. Two Six-year Senate terms
B. Six Two-year House terms
C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms
2. No Tenure/No Pension. A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.
3. 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.
4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
5. Congress will no longer vote them a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/11. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen 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.
The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971...before computers, before e-mail, before cell phones, etc. Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure. Maybe it is time.