“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people; it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests”.
- Patrick Henry -
I have totally cleaned this e-mail from all other names, sending it to you in hopes you will keep it going and keep it clean. This is something I will fight for and I hope you all read it all the way through. You will be glad you did.
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.
I'm asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.
In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.
Congressional Reform Act of 2011
1. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are 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 are void effective 1/1/12.
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.
If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people, it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S.) to receive the message. Maybe it is time.
THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!!!!!
If you agree with the above, pass it on. If not, just delete. You are one of my 20+. Please keep it going.
Here are my thoughts and recommendations concerning the e-mail:
Some items that the petition proposes to "fix" are very misleading. For example: the one about social security -- see Snopes:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/socialsecurity/pensions.asp
I agree with the proposal about medical care -- I think everyone in the US should be covered through the Government equally. The 30% of the money that the US spends on medical care "insurance overhead" could then either be saved -- our partially converted to improvements in actual care.
On the other hand, I think we do need some sort of financial incentive to compensate or reward people who are willing to devote a big chunk of their life and their time to serving in public office. In order to get to US Congress/Senate, they really need to spend time in a city, county or state legislative body, which often pays very little. US Senate & House pay needs to be better than the lower tiers of Government to attract the best from those lower offices, and compensate them for having to maintain two households.
Do you think the rewards are adequate enough to attract you into running for office? Would you risk spending years of your time working at lower offices, and then spend a lot of your money and time campaigning for a "shot" at the office? If we don't pay them well, all we will get are the people who are already wealthy, who can afford to spend the money to get into office or people who are "sponsored" by the wealthy or large contributors (or corporations). I think that situation would be very good for the right-wing, but not good for the true, grass roots of the country.
No, I think the absolute best way to "fix" congress is to extend their terms of office and simultaneously enact some term limits. Two year terms in congress is much too short to be able to learn "the job" -- It also requires much too frequent campaigning. When the country was founded, the congressmen had to make a long trip home to talk to constituents every two years. Now, with internet and CSPAN we are in continuous communication.
I could see Congressmen be elected for 5 years with 2 term limit and Senators have one 12 year term. That way, they won't be continuously campaigning, won't need to be raising money etc. They should receive a pension that is commensurate with their term of service -- but not exorbitant, of course. I believe I have seen e-mail circulate with similar provisions included.
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