Saw this long and detailed post on the Nextdoor platform this morning.
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I’m sure we all have many friends on both sides of the political aisle. Over the years, I have intentionally refrained from revealing my own personal positions on either side because I value each of their political opinions and their friendships. That being said, I will again try to remain neutral in this discussion. But here is my take on the political landscape today.
Most people that I’ve talked to, in general, each blame the opposing political party for what is happening in government. And therein lies the problem. If the process is examined in its entirety, the whole process is actually the result of what is currently happening in government.
Our government is in total gridlock. Congress is failing to pass any legislation on a number of issues facing America today. Nothing is getting done for fear of appearing to cave in to the opposition. The Republicans blame the Democrats, and the Democrats are pointing fingers at the Republicans. Just a short time ago, Congress had an approval rating way down in the single digits. Both parties were refusing to work with the other. We’ve had numerous government shutdowns with both parties accusing the other of being responsible.
If you remember, there was talk of maybe needing government to be run more like a business as far back as when Ross Perot ran for president. Well that experiment came true. We had a businessman in charge. Maybe not as good of one as we expected, but this businessman beat out 17 other well respected Republicans in the primaries. And for the most part, the result was that the government was being run more like a business.
So, if we remove Trump, as an individual, from the equation since he is assumed by many to be the result of the problem, we should now examine what we can do to fix the overall issues within the government.
Here are my ideas for an attempt at a solution in no particular order.
1- Term limits. The president is limited to two terms. Congress needs the same limits. No one should be a career politician. I would propose a maximum of two terms for the Senate (12 years) and four terms for the House of Representatives (8 years). In addition there are 9 Supreme Court Justices. The most senior Judge should retire every three years and the next most senior Justice takes their place. That results in a complete turnover every 27 years.
2- Pension Plans/Insurance Plans. Congress shall not pass a law in which they are exempt. Once they are finished with their official duties, they may return to the private sector. No pension shall be provided.
3- All Congressional pay raises shall not occur until after the next election. All raises shall be tied to the official Consumer Price Index. In addition, no Congressional pay raises shall occur when the government budget is operating at a deficit for 5 straight years.
4- Lobbyists. All former government officials are prohibited from working as a lobbyist for a minimum of 20 years.
5- Voter ID. Elections are serious business with serious consequences. Everyone that votes need to show ID. If they can’t or don’t show ID they may cast a provisional ballot and once they can prove who they are, the vote will be counted.
6- Fundraising Limits. I also think something needs to be done about the amount of money that is raised and how it’s spent. A candidate shouldn’t spend hundreds of millions of dollars to earn a position that pays a couple hundred thousand dollars. That raises too many questions in regard to political alliances/favors.
7- Bills and the laws they are to become should stand on their own merit. They should not be attached as an addendum or rider to another bill. While that may increase the workload substantially, it will for the most part eliminate all the pet projects from being written and attached to more important subjects that are in consideration.
While I doubt what I have suggested will completely fix what’s wrong with government, I think it will at least be a start. I could go on and on but let’s see if we can at least start to fix the government so it can get back to the business of serving its citizens.
As a request, please keep the discussion civil without pointing fingers. The previous points were made as an attempt to open a dialog about what we can do to fix the entire system. Feel free to add any constructive talking points to what I’ve mentioned.
In any case happy voting and remember, if you don’t vote, you can’t complain about the results. I hope whoever your candidate is, wins…whoever that may be!!
