Our beloved Constitution gave us 535 of these good folk.
The Founding Fathers intended them to be REPRESENTATIVES of we the people. In fact, today, these constitutionally appointed Representatives have become our:
RULERS.
There is the House of Representatives, all 435 of them. Every ten years, a census is taken and the number of Representatives from that state, that region of our country changes as our population ebbs and flows. But the total number of Representatives – rulers in Washington DC remains the same, 435.
Each of our wonderful states (with perhaps two exceptions) is represented in the Senate by two such Representatives. The total number of United States Senators is 100. These 535 people, along with the President of the United States and the nine Supreme Court Justices:
RULE US.
One pundit has said that the key to being a successful politician and being elected is to be a good liar. And, in an era of POST-TRUTH, that is undoubtedly the case. I remember one individual asking me some time ago if I had ever met a politician who never lied, no matter the belief system, morals or ultimate values. I realized I had not for in the world of politics, the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth seems impossible.
When first elected, new Congresspersons and Senators come to Washington DC, to our federal government determined to make a difference. They expect a certain political equality, the one Senator equal to the other 99, and the one Congressperson equal to the other 434. But then, political reality sets in. They soon realize they are low man or woman on the totem pole with little voice or authority. They become party-indoctrinated, subject in so many cases to the will and direction of the party leader and they are expected to vote as they are told. They have to earn their political stripes through party loyalty before they have any chance at all of making a difference. So many potentially well intentioned Representatives and Senators get lost in the shuffle, often become disillusioned and have, soon enough, more than enough of power-hungry Washington DC. Home they go never to return.
There have been any number of Congressional Representatives elected for two year terms who have served that one term and never returned. Some have retired. Some have not been reelected. Some have even resigned in midstream. And the same with Senators. Many have served one six year term and no more. Some so retired have become influenced – peddlers, working for companies or other entities with business interests to influence politicians and legislation. Others have received lucrative jobs in business. Still others, lawyers, have been offered powerful positions in legal firms. Hardly any former Congressperson or Senator has not had a lucrative opportunity in the private sector when out of politics. That is not what the Founding Fathers intended.
Those who wrote the worlds greatest document, The United States Constitution, intended public service to be a privilege, an honor, an opportunity to serve WE THE PEOPLE with motives pure and with the best interest of our country first and foremost. In fact, they intended that our Representatives would never profit or get financial gain as a result of their service. The reward to them would be the pride felt as a result of honorable and trustworthy service rendered. They would always be citizens first and foremost, equal to and never different from or better than the average citizen. That was especially so when they returned HOME. But, how things have changed when our Representatives became rulers, entitled, different, better and in so many ways unattached and even unconcerned with we the people. We, some 330 million of us, live the way, and only the way they wish and declare. We have no say. We elect them, as a result of their promises or their false representations and off they go to Washington to do their own thing. Politics becomes a career instead of a short term privilege. Political leaders count on reelection and a permanent kind of power. And the longer the tenure, the longer elected and governing in Washington DC, the greater the power.
Like Chuck Schumer, Democratic Senator from New York. Schumer has been in office:
38 YEARS!
He is the Democratic, the minority leader in the Senate with incredible power.
Like Patrick Leahy, Democratic Senator from Vermont who has been in power:
44 YEARS!
Like Nancy Pelosi, Democrat and Speaker of the House from California who has been in office:
32 YEARS!
Like Maxine Waters, Democrat from California who has been in office:
28 YEARS!
All wield incredible political power as a result of those reelections and have made easy transitions from Representative to ruler. They virtually assume reelection and politically they do what they want.
As a result of that power entrenchment and any number of other examples, there now comes a movement:
IMPEACH CONGRESS – ENACT TERM LIMITS!
It seems the only real answer, term limits. Perhaps six terms for a Congressperson, total 12 years, and two terms for a Senator, total 12 years and:
DONE.
Back to where you once belonged.
But now for the shocker my fellow Americans. Listen to what happens when your ruler returns home.
In the last year of their congressional employment, they worked 111 of the years 365 days. That is all. The average American works at or about 250 days annually, or even more. But, no matter how long the representative or Senator has worked in Washington, even as little as two years or six years, they retire with the very same monthly retirement amount they were paid as acting and working Representatives! THAT IS FOR LIFE! Can you believe that? Now comes the so called TRUMP CONGRESSIONAL REFORM ACT. That would deal with this inequity and provide that no such retiring representative would have tenure. And no pension. The Congressional Representative collects compensation when in office and receives nothing when OUT. The take home pay is the honor and the pride of having served the greatest country in the history of the world. NOTHING ELSE!
And, says the Trump Congressional Reform Act every Representative House and Senate, those from the past, and in the present and of course any future would be required to participate in SOCIAL SECURITY.
There is now a special congressional retirement fund and those monies would be transferred to the social security system immediately. All future funds would flow into the system so that every member of congress would participate on an equal basis with the American people, all of us with regard to social security. No more, no less.
And more. Congress must purchase their own retirement plan just as WE THE PEOPLE do. A lifetime retirement plan for Congresspersons based on the full amount of their final salary no matter how many years worked in Washington is totally unacceptable. Go back, Congresspersons to where you once belonged and make your life present and future just as we the people do.
Further, Congress will no longer vote themselves pay increases. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of the CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (CPI) or 3%. No more no matter what. More than fair.
And, the lucrative, special, current healthcare system and plans available to Congresspersons would be immediately terminated and they the rulers would participate in the same healthcare system as WE THE PEOPLE. Congress has incredible medical privileges well beyond the average American citizen and are for the most part exempt from the rigors of Obamacare, a privileged situation grossly unfair. The Trump proposal would completely do away with that.
More. All contracts with past and present Congresspersons are voided immediately. So many such Representatives participate in lucrative dealings with the federal government as a result of their former or present status. All would be voided, only fair don’t you think? They participated in those contracts only because they were Congresspersons, ELECTED BY US! All of this is simply unbelievable and virtually unknown to the average American citizen. All of this is:
GROSSLY UNFAIR.
You can imagine that there is little chance that this fair and equitable proposal will ever pass, in whole or in part. These 535 rulers really, bottom line, care first and most for themselves and not us. They think of themselves as different. They think of themselves as better, elite, rulers, wiser than us and no matter what they say, the vast majority really do not believe in democracy nor do they trust the will and desires of the American people. They are determined to tell us what is right and how to live. The tragedy is that WE LET THEM. For the most part, we the people are uninformed, uneducated, and worst of all indifferent. WE LET THIS HAPPEN! And the more it happens, the more democracy is extinguished. Millions, tens of millions of WE THE PEOPLE should rise up, angry and indignant, and demand the fundamental changes required. We should indeed begin a movement:
IMPEACH CONGRESS – ENACT TERM LIMITS
Congressional term limits are really the only sure answer. Ironically, we the people and our various states had no problem amending the Constitution to limit the number of terms a President could serve (2). Why not the same for Congress?
If we don’t act now, there will be few if any Representatives of we the people, but only rulers. It will be the end of our democracy, OUR REPUBLIC! And most importantly, OUR FREEDOMS! We can not let that happen, now or ever.
Founding Father Benjamin Franklin told us that he and his colleagues had given us a REPUBLIC in the form of our beloved Constitution. But said Franklin, only:
IF YOU CAN KEEP IT
We my fellow Americans are doing one horrible job in keeping our republic, our democratic way of life, and the freedoms we so readily enjoy and take for granted. We have become politically and civically immobile and indifferent. And day by day, away goes the way of life we take for granted. We better get on with the business of KEEPING IT or the America we love will vanish.
FREEDOMS ONCE LOST ARE LOST FOREVER!
We should get our rulers out of office and get them off THE PEOPLES PAYROLL!