NL- this is an OP/ED by Jimmy. I love the idea of it. But I’m sadly jaded enough by our political corruption to think it would never happen.
The 26th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States granted the right to vote to 18-year-olds. It took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple: The people of the United States demanded it! That was back in 1971, before personal computers, before e-mail, before cell phones, before many things we now take for granted.
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 of you to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on your address list. In turn, please ask each of those to do likewise. If everyone follows up with this, most people in the United States will have this message in three days! Yes, only three days! This is one idea that really should be passed around regardless of your personal political views. Congressional Reform Act of 2011
1. No Tenure / No Pension: A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay once 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 along with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress may purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans can do.
4. Congress may no longer vote themselves pay raises. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care plan 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. No exclusions for Congressman.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make these contracts with Congressmen. Congressmen made these contracts for and amongst themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor. A great honor. But it is not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators. That’s what our representatives in Congress will return to being: Citizen legislators. They will serve their terms and then leave office and return to work or whatever else they may have been doing prior to be given the honor of serving as a Congressman.
Y’know, I liked it right up until #7 at the end. That’s trying to make the amendment retroactive and it’s rather tough to get a law made that’ll do that – a lot of people tend to see that as being unfair. Mind you, I’m not affected by the political mess in the US aside from being a neighbour of yours – proud resident of “Soviet Canuckistan”. “)