Congresspersons are NOT gods

[Scuba]

Warren Buffett, in a recent interview with CNBC, offers one of the best quotes about the debt ceiling:
"I could end the deficit in 5 minutes," he told CNBC. "You just 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.

The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971...before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc. 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.

Warren Buffet is asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise. In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.

*Congressional Reform Act of 2011*

1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are 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 are void effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work. If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S.) to receive the message. Maybe it is time.

THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS

[baldguy]

1. FactCheck.org debunks most of this.

http://www.factcheck.org/2011/03/congressional-reform-act/

[Fumesucker]

2. At first glance this looks pretty good..

But I'd be really wary of the law of unintended consequences..

Prohibition sounded like a good idea at the time too..

[Mass]

3. Really? A chain email started by Warren Buffet.

Aside that it has already been debunked (see post ^1), how gullible are you? Unrec.

[Laelth]

4. I think this is a terrible idea. n/t

-Laelth

[Marrah_G]

5. Term limits, public campaign financing only, no "parties" and term limits

This is how you change the behavior of the greedy bastards in DC. I would also change the Presidency to ONE 6 year term. Imagine what could happen if every fucking decisions was not based solely on how it will effect the next election.

[ThoughtCriminal]

6. Some are if you're dyslexic

Woof!

Pre-pologies to anyone offended. I couldn't stop myself.