A couple of other really good suggestions were brought to my attention regarding our elected representatives who only represent themselves these days. And I believe a concerted effort to implement these changes would do us all a world of good.
(1) I think we should also initiate a lottery system for their removal to match the official national unemployment figures. If 10% of the nation loses their job, that should be matched to the percentage point in their august body. That way, when the rest of the nation loses jobs, some of them should also lose theirs without any advance warning. Then, just maybe, they will understand how the rest of us feel when we see our family and friends suffering due in large measure to stupid decisions they make on Capitol Hill.
(2) Their salaries should be tied to the same index used to pay SSI and SSI Disability payments. If our disabled and elderly can't be afforded a rise in their cost of living, then the Federal Government can't afford one either.
(3) Salaries of all elected officials should be mandated to be set at a national average wage that is not to exceed $75,000.00 per year. It can most certainly be LESS - especially since the politicians keep screaming about what an 'honor' it is to serve the nation and they are, for the most part, more than capable of living on their dividends, stocks, bonds and offshore accounts.
(4) When a simple majority of their constituents are not happy with their performance for the public good, oh, say like right now - when they aren't listening to us on this health care debacle that is about to destroy our nation - we should be able to vote their butts out of office immediately.
and finally,
(5) This idea is the brainchild of Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and is worth a great deal of merit. "Nearly 100,000 civilian federal employees owe the IRS $962 million in back taxes. He thinks they should pay up or be fired. Chaffetz has introduced a bill that calls for the federal government to "ferret out" civilian employees who have "seriously delinquent tax debt" and prevent the hiring of other tax delinquents."
To put it into perspective (quoting from the article): "More than 3 percent of the 2.8 million federal civilian employees owed the Treasury unpaid federal income taxes in 2008, according to the IRS. If you include retirees and military service members, the numbers go from nearly 100,000 up to 276,000 current or former workers who owe $3 billion in taxes.
If you get to the point where the government is putting a lien on their property and they've exhausted their appeals… the right thing to do is fire them as a federal worker," said Chaffetz. "If you're going to take federal tax dollars, you should be paying your federal taxes."
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Tax/100000-federal-employees-owe-irs-back-taxes/story?id=10125860
All I have to say is: AMEN, brother, AMEN!!!
Just a few things to keep in mind about those who are alleged to serve us, but who increasingly serve only themselves.
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