Congressional Reform Act of 2012

[VaticanAssassin]

This is making its rounds again. Unfortunately it makes way to much sense to ever get done. If the Rep./Dem. propaganda machines are not behind it then the sheep will never know what to do.

( I added number 8)

Congressional Reform Act of 2012

1. No Tenure / No Pension.

A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no
pay when they're 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/women are void
effective 12/1/12. The American people did not make this
contract with Congressmen/women.

8. pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more
than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible
for re-election.

 

[ivantheterrible]

sounds good to me.

 

[miles]

I think we should offer them hefty monetary incentives for substantially reducing federal spending.

 

[Busybody]

every year there is NO BUDGET in place

half pay, half expense allowance

every year of INCREASING DEFICIT

NO PAY



Never happen

 

[Ishmael]

This is making its rounds again. Unfortunately it makes way to much sense to ever get done. If the Rep./Dem. propaganda machines are not behind it then the sheep will never know what to do.

( I added number 8)

Congressional Reform Act of 2012

1. No Tenure / No Pension.

A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no
pay when they're 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/women are void
effective 12/1/12. The American people did not make this
contract with Congressmen/women.

8. pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more
than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible
for re-election.

#8 has to be modified to make accommodation for "Declared Wars." I would also rethink the 3% limit. 10-15% would probably be a more reasonable figure to allow for flexibility for major programs.

And while it sounds good on paper it's really rather moot. If congress can pass it, they can modify or eliminate it. For example, in 1986 the congress passed a simplified income tax that was essentially a two tiered flat tax that eliminated virtually all loop holes and deductions. Today the US Tax code and it's associated regulations is 5.6 million words (+) in length, seven times the size of the Bible, and growing almost monthly. Only by enacting the above as a constitutional amendment can there be any assurance that any of it will last beyond the next session of congress.

Ishmael

 

[Busybody]

an excercise

in

futility

 

[Obama_2012]

an excercise

in

futility

Was that the Romney campaign slogan?

 

[KRCummings]

This is making its rounds again. Unfortunately it makes way to much sense to ever get done. If the Rep./Dem. propaganda machines are not behind it then the sheep will never know what to do.

( I added number 8)

Congressional Reform Act of 2012

1. No Tenure / No Pension.

A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no
pay when they're 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/women are void
effective 12/1/12. The American people did not make this
contract with Congressmen/women.

8. pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more
than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible
for re-election.

Politicians don't have tenure in the academic sense and have to have it in the sense of holding an office.

7 is dumb.
8 is dumber.

 

[Trace_Element]

This has been going around FB as a Warren Buffet proposal, with #8 actually being the only one he has said anything about...Congress already has to contribute to Social Security, as of 1984...but overall it does make sense...thus would never gain any traction in DC...

 

[DooleyDarter]

I have always thought they should be paid 5 million a year, with strict term limits. Let them make enough for themselves that they might be induced to keep their hands out of the till. Nothing will change for the better in this country until we get rid of the professional politician.

 

[Liar]

#8 has to be modified to make accommodation for "Declared Wars." I would also rethink the 3% limit. 10-15% would probably be a more reasonable figure to allow for flexibility for major programs.

Not to mention unexpected crap.

Like a coup and financial collapse of China sending every market in the world into a tailspin. Also, Yellowstone is gonna go boom one day.

The problem is that Congresses are too short. Two years? Too many circumstances beyond their cintrol can force them into the red in that time span that aer irrelevant to policy.

 

[Liar]

I have always thought they should be paid 5 million a year, with strict term limits. Let them make enough for themselves that they might be induced to keep their hands out of the till. Nothing will change for the better in this country until we get rid of the professional politician.

Buying back the politicians from the lobbyists? Heh, maybe.

 

[VaticanAssassin]

This has been going around FB as a Warren Buffet proposal, with #8 actually being the only one he has said anything about...Congress already has to contribute to Social Security, as of 1984...but overall it does make sense...thus would never gain any traction in DC...

Yep.... they added the Warren Buffet to it and recycled it from a Congressional act of 2009/2010/ and 2011

Number 8 makes the most sense in simplistic terms but would need to be adjusted for various circumstances.

There are several issues with some of the others...

■Demands that members of Congress be forced to "participate in Social Security." But members of Congress already participate, paying Social Security payroll taxes just like nearly every other worker. Once upon a time that wasn’t true, but members of Congress were brought under Social Security way back in 1984.

■Urges that "Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose." the idea that Congress has exempted itself from many of its own laws is also somewhat out of date. A law enacted in 1995 applied 13 civil rights, labor, and workplace safety and health laws to Congress, removing the basis for earlier criticisms. It’s true that members of Congress retain a degree of immunity from arrest or prosecution, but changing that require an amendment to the Constitution, which grants that immunity in Article I, Section 6. (The authors of the Constitution didn’t want any president to try what King Charles I of England had done in 1642 — sending troops to arrest his critics in Parliament.) The message is confused, at first mentioning earlier constitutional amendments, but then describing the proposal as an "act," which refers to legislation.


■Urges that members of Congress should "purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do." But that’s also nonsense. Relatively few Americans buy retirement plans entirely out of their own pockets. In fact, just under half of all Americans worked in 2009 for an employer that sponsors a retirement plan, according to the most recent information from the Employee Benefit Research Institute. And among those who worked full time for the entire year, 54 percent actually participated in an employer-sponsored plan. About 12 percent are self-employed, EBRI says, and so may be in a position to buy a retirement plan for themselves. But 27 percent had incomes of under $10,000 that year, too little to be putting much if anything away for retirement.

 

[Liar]

I'm curious about 5 and 6. They seem like posturing, but I might be missing something.

What health coiverage does congressmen have? One provided by their employer, the federal government, I'd assume. Do they have a different/better plan than others with the same employer?

What laws does congressmen not have to abide by today?

So yeah, what vatass said above. while I posted this.

 

[VaticanAssassin]

I'm curious about 5 and 6. They seem like posturing, but I might be missing something.

What health coiverage does congressmen have? One provided by their employer, the federal government, I'd assume. Do they have a different/better plan than others with the same employer?

What laws does congressmen not have to abide by today?

So yeah, what vatass said above. while I posted this.

According to the Congressional Research Service, the FEHBP offers about 300 different private health care plans, including five government-wide, fee-for-service plans and many regional health maintenance organization (HMO) plans, plus high-deductible, tax-advantaged plans. All plans cover hospital, surgical and physician services, and mental health services, prescription drugs and “catastrophic” coverage against very large medical expenses. There are no waiting periods for coverage when new employees are hired, and there are no exclusions for preexisting conditions. The FEHBP negotiates contracts annually with all insurance companies who wish to participate. There is plenty of competition for the business; FEHBP is the largest employer-sponsored health plan in the U.S.

Those who don’t like their coverage may switch to another plan during a yearly “open season” period. To help with the choices, FEHBP conducts an annual “satisfaction survey” of each plan with more than 500 members and publishes the results.

Like other large employers, the government pays a large share of the cost of coverage. On average, the government pays 72 percent of the premiums for its workers, up to a maximum of 75 percent depending on the policy chosen. For example, the popular Blue Cross and Blue Shield standard fee-for-service family plan carries a total premium of $1,327.80 per month, of which the beneficiary pays $430.04. Washington, D.C.-based employees who prefer an HMO option might choose the Kaiser standard family plan. It carries a total premium of $825.15 per month, of which the employee pays only $206.29

 

[LiFeNdEaTh]

why not... another thread to the many others involve. lol

 

[eyer]

"Congressional Reform" is an oxymoron...

 

[imalickin]

I'm curious about 5 and 6. They seem like posturing, but I might be missing something.

What health coiverage does congressmen have? One provided by their employer, the federal government, I'd assume. Do they have a different/better plan than others with the same employer?

What laws does congressmen not have to abide by today?

So yeah, what vatass said above. while I posted this.

They are exempt from participating in ObamaCare.

 

[Liar]

They are exempt from participating in ObamaCare.

Explain what "participating in ObamaCare" means.

 

[SeaDaddy1]

What difference does it make? We voted them back in and expect different results. Nothing is going to change if we keep doing stupid insane shit like that.

 

[mercury14]

#8 has to be modified to make accommodation for "Declared Wars." I would also rethink the 3% limit. 10-15% would probably be a more reasonable figure to allow for flexibility for major programs.

And while it sounds good on paper it's really rather moot. If congress can pass it, they can modify or eliminate it. For example, in 1986 the congress passed a simplified income tax that was essentially a two tiered flat tax that eliminated virtually all loop holes and deductions. Today the US Tax code and it's associated regulations is 5.6 million words (+) in length, seven times the size of the Bible, and growing almost monthly. Only by enacting the above as a constitutional amendment can there be any assurance that any of it will last beyond the next session of congress.

Ishmael

I agree, it's just a watered-down balanced budget amendment where ideology trumps practicality. But it "feels good" to VatAss so he backs it.

 

[mercury14]

They are exempt from participating in ObamaCare.

This is completely false. Which shouldn't surprise anyone since you don't know what Obamacare is.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

This is making its rounds again. Unfortunately it makes way to much sense to ever get done. If the Rep./Dem. propaganda machines are not behind it then the sheep will never know what to do.

( I added number 8)

Congressional Reform Act of 2012

1. No Tenure / No Pension.

A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no
pay when they're 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/women are void
effective 12/1/12. The American people did not make this
contract with Congressmen/women.

8. pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more
than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible
for re-election.

Congressional feather nesting is as old as the nation. When Washington and the troops were freezing and starving at Valley Forge Congress quarrelled over how to spend the treasury on their own comforts. The American army officer corps wasnt much better, plenty of officers fled to Philadelphia to share the comforts (and ladies) with their British brothers.

 

[renard_ruse]

Talk about an unimportant waste of legislative time. There are what a little over 500 people in Congress. This makes zero difference in the real problems facing the country.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Whatever we do or ignore, the world remains the same.

Give a man a living wage and he'll miss more work. Give a woman healthcare and she'll con the doc outta drugs. Give a poor family food stamps and theyll get their food from the free pantry, then sell the food stamps.