Looming Sequestration

[gurneyhalleck1]

Ban political parties in the spirit of George Washington's views on partisanship!

Make lobbying illegal, period.

Create a system where congress MUST enact a budget on time or they get no pay and no benefits as well as sanctions with the possibility of recalls, etc.

Disallow presidents and vice presidents to be on the same party ticket!

Get CSPAN out of our congress. Before CSPAN and the idiot media (on both sides!) took over, nobody watched congress. Believe it or not, that was A GOOD THING! After CSPAN and company started their watchful eye, house and senate congressmen started using CSPAN as a soapbox circus creating absurd salesmanship and dumb antics with soundbytes. Just ask James Traficant! :o

Ban earmarks.

Limit the power of the Executive branch. The last twelve years or so have seen a reckless expansion of the Executive at the cost of our freedom, individual liberties, and fiscal security.

Make war difficult to start! Put the War Powers Act on steroids!

 

[gzt]

See here for some details about Congressional retirement benefits: US Congress Salaries and Benefits

Full details here: http://www.senate.gov/CRSReports/crs-publish.cfm?pid='0E,*PLC8"@ So boring.

They remain eligible for the health plan, but they do pay premiums, and it's out of post-tax dollars after they have left office.

 

[gzt]

Create a system where congress MUST enact a budget on time or they get no pay and no benefits as well as sanctions with the possibility of recalls, etc.

Ban earmarks.

As mentioned before, no pay and no benefits don't matter to congress all that much - they have money and don't need what they get from the Feds. Sanctions and recalls, maybe.

"Ban earmarks" has been a popular call at times, but it's also how business has historically gotten done. EC remarked about getting re-elected by serving their constituents: that's what gets it done. One of the things that has gotten Tea Party electees in trouble is their lack of understanding of this - they've shot things down left and right, but then when they need something for their constituents, they realize that this is how it's done, but now they have no pull. There's plenty of "bad" in this, but some good, and the problem is hard enough to solve that it might as well be given a pass. There are worse problems to take care of.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

There are other ways of representing one's constituents and getting things done for your district without essentially bribing someone with your vote. Just because it's how things have 'gotten done' for a while now doesn't mean it's a good practice. Things need to change in Washington, big time...

As mentioned before, no pay and no benefits don't matter to congress all that much - they have money and don't need what they get from the Feds. Sanctions and recalls, maybe.

"Ban earmarks" has been a popular call at times, but it's also how business has historically gotten done. EC remarked about getting re-elected by serving their constituents: that's what gets it done. One of the things that has gotten Tea Party electees in trouble is their lack of understanding of this - they've shot things down left and right, but then when they need something for their constituents, they realize that this is how it's done, but now they have no pull. There's plenty of "bad" in this, but some good, and the problem is hard enough to solve that it might as well be given a pass. There are worse problems to take care of.

 

[ArmyMatt]

constitutional amendment to force Congress to pass a balanced budget each year

limit the presidency to one 6 year term with no re-election, no longer than 8 years.

term limits on Congress and the Senate

tax breaks for those who vote.

don't get me started on the Federal Departments I would cut.

 

[Dorothea]

I have a very simple solution: fire everyone in Congress who is from the Baby Boomer generation because, bluntly speaking, this country was great before they took over.

Also, give the Congressmen the same benefits that is given to the enlisted military. That is: while you are in, you get full benefits and a wage that is below poverty line. If you want to keep your benefits and half your pay when you get out than you will have to serve in Congress for twenty years. How do you do that? Re-election. How do you get re-elected? Serve your constituency.
I say this because I think it is absolute bull that some idiot who gets elected for two years, voted out and never runs again is entitled to free medical and dental care for life whereas every other working class American has to work beyond retirement age just to have the funds available to meet the ridiculous cost of living.

Yes, it is ridiculous. I think we all should get the same benefits that the congress people get. And we need term limits.

 

[Dorothea]

Ban political parties in the spirit of George Washington's views on partisanship!

Make lobbying illegal, period.

Create a system where congress MUST enact a budget on time or they get no pay and no benefits as well as sanctions with the possibility of recalls, etc.

Disallow presidents and vice presidents to be on the same party ticket!

Get CSPAN out of our congress. Before CSPAN and the idiot media (on both sides!) took over, nobody watched congress. Believe it or not, that was A GOOD THING! After CSPAN and company started their watchful eye, house and senate congressmen started using CSPAN as a soapbox circus creating absurd salesmanship and dumb antics with soundbytes. Just ask James Traficant! :o

Ban earmarks.

Limit the power of the Executive branch. The last twelve years or so have seen a reckless expansion of the Executive at the cost of our freedom, individual liberties, and fiscal security.

Make war difficult to start! Put the War Powers Act on steroids!

Ban the tyrannical, paid-for, two-party system and allow anyone to run for president, making money not the main issue.

 

[Dorothea]

constitutional amendment to force Congress to pass a balanced budget each year

limit the presidency to one 6 year term with no re-election, no longer than 8 years.

term limits on Congress and the Senate

tax breaks for those who vote.

don't get me started on the Federal Departments I would cut.

That sounds pretty good. Except tax breaks for voting. I mean I understand the motivation and encouraging folks to vote, but if there's no one to vote for because of this messed up system, it makes it kinda hard. But other than that, I like your ideas.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

I know this suggestion will come up sooner or later, so I'm just going to get it out of the way:

Make Father Thomas Hopko President of the United States for life

 

[Dorothea]

I know this suggestion will come up sooner or later, so I'm just going to get it out of the way:

Make Father Thomas Hopko President of the United States for life

Bite your tongue! We don't want any of our clergy in government official positions, let alone president!

(of course, I know you're joking, but still....perish the thought!)

 

[E.C.]

EC: it's actually not true that that is the case. Their benefits are not that nice. Also, frankly, congressmen don't really need the benefits and salary from the government. If you have what it takes to get into congress, you'll have employment for life after. Usually at better pay. That's not going to be a motivator for them.

Even better: don't pay them at all!

 

[ArmyMatt]

That sounds pretty good. Except tax breaks for voting. I mean I understand the motivation and encouraging folks to vote, but if there's no one to vote for because of this messed up system, it makes it kinda hard. But other than that, I like your ideas.

that one would come in after the others

I would also lower the drinking age to 18 in public areas, and let parents decide in the home. I know that's kinda silly, but it does come to mind.

 

[Gnarwhal]

I would also lower the drinking age to 18 in public areas, and let parents decide in the home. I know that's kinda silly, but it does come to mind.

That's not a bad idea. I think if that were introduced in a manner which the legal age was lowered one year, every two or three years, the supposed chaos lowering the age would cause may not happen.

 

[Dorothea]

that one would come in after the others

I would also lower the drinking age to 18 in public areas, and let parents decide in the home. I know that's kinda silly, but it does come to mind.

That may sound good, and in European countries since alcohol isn't banned and kids/teens can have a little wine with their special family dinners, there's no taboo, hence, no interest in trying to get some. But, I have a bitterness about alcohol because I have alcoholics in my family, my husband's family, my husband (who's dry now, but as Fr. Meletios Webber says, you're still one, just a dry one, or words to that effect), that I tend to wish it was banned, even though I know that is not logical. It's a sore subject for me, is all I'm saying. Hope you don't take offense to what I've said.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

I'd like to try an experiment to show how idiotic, inept, and incapable of governance these nincompoops in the House and Senate are by hiring Ozzy Osbourne for president, Ron Wood for vice president, William Shatner as speaker of the house, Ace Frehely for senate majority leader, 50 sixth graders for the senate and the other 50 carnies, replace the supreme court justices with the cast of CSI, Jerry Stiller as lead justice, secretary of defense would be Barry from Storage Wars, secretary of state Andy Serkis who played Gollum, Frank Oz who was the voice of Yoda as interior secretary, Sinbad as ambassador to Iran.

Even with that motley bunch we'd probably do better than we are now. We are governed by losers....

 

[inconsequential]

I'd like to try an experiment to show how idiotic, inept, and incapable of governance these nincompoops in the House and Senate are by hiring Ozzy Osbourne for president, Ron Wood for vice president, William Shatner as speaker of the house, Ace Frehely for senate majority leader, 50 sixth graders for the senate and the other 50 carnies, replace the supreme court justices with the cast of CSI, Jerry Stiller as lead justice, secretary of defense would be Barry from Storage Wars, secretary of state Andy Serkis who played Gollum, Frank Oz who was the voice of Yoda as interior secretary, Sinbad as ambassador to Iran.

Even with that motley bunch we'd probably do better than we are now. We are governed by losers....

I would actually listen to that SOTU address. With subtitles, a time delay, and bleeping for language, of course.

 

[SharonL]

This administration will make sure that whatever cuts there will be will hurt us the most to prove their point. It is so disheartening to see what is happening in our government - and it is all intentional. We could come out of this mess within months, but they are tying our hands and then laughing at us. Divide and conquer is their mode of operation. I think we have gone too far - it will take years to bring us back to where we were before all this change.

The administration is now in the process of making laws to get rid of whistle blowers so we won't know what is going on in the government. They are doing everything in secret and getting more secret every day.

Our only hope is for Jesus to come before this whole mess catches up to us.

 

[MrJim]

I'd like to try an experiment to show how idiotic, inept, and incapable of governance these nincompoops in the House and Senate are by hiring Ozzy Osbourne for president, Ron Wood for vice president, William Shatner as speaker of the house, Ace Frehely for senate majority leader, 50 sixth graders for the senate and the other 50 carnies, replace the supreme court justices with the cast of CSI, Jerry Stiller as lead justice, secretary of defense would be Barry from Storage Wars, secretary of state Andy Serkis who played Gollum, Frank Oz who was the voice of Yoda as interior secretary, Sinbad as ambassador to Iran.

Even with that motley bunch we'd probably do better than we are now. We are governed by losers....

Finally a gov't I could believe in

 

[gzt]

This administration will make sure that whatever cuts there will be will hurt us the most to prove their point. It is so disheartening to see what is happening in our government - and it is all intentional. We could come out of this mess within months, but they are tying our hands and then laughing at us. Divide and conquer is their mode of operation. I think we have gone too far - it will take years to bring us back to where we were before all this change.

The cuts are written into the law itself. The administration doesn't have discretion about where the cuts get made and that's part of the problem and why some of the cuts will hit so hard.

 

[Lirenel]

I feel the same as most here. I even had a dream the other night that, due to the terrible economy and stupid politicians, people from both political parties joined together to protest everything and I made a speech to warn about about how if the government didn't shape up they may end up facing their own Nika Riot, which would be a bad thing for everyone.