My grandfathers taught me me in this country everyone's the same you work hard for your dollar and you never pass the blame, when it don't go your way. Now I see all these big shots whining on my evening news, About how they're losing trillions and it's up to me and you to come running to the rescue. Well pardon me if I don't shed a tear. Their selling make believe and we don't buy that here.
What happened to "We the People" somewhere between being elected and being in office, Congress and the President seem to have lost touch with that concept. Not a suprise after all, how can one truly be "we the people" when they have a steady paycheck, get their own health care for free for the rest of their life. Are eligible for retirement at age 62 and Members of Congress first elected in 1984 or later are covered automatically under the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS), unless they decline this coverage.Congress has the option of one of four different retirement plans:
- Full coverage under both CSRS and Social Security;
- The “CSRS Offset” plan, which includes both CSRS and Social Security, but with CSRS contributions and benefits reduced by Social Security contributions and benefits;
- FERS plus Social Security;
- Social Security alone.
The starting salary for Congress in 2007 was $97,500. Is it any wonder they don't want to raise taxes on those who make over $100,000 a year? Then you add for the president, you're own mansion, bodyguards for life, armored limosine, private 747, your own helicopter, all paid for by the tax payers.
As John Stewart once wrote "It's time to tell the children that it's not about the rings that we put upon the fingers of the man who would be king."
What if "We the people" banded together and could start putting our own measures on the ballot.
Imaginary ballot measures:
- to cut Congressional retirement funds the way they want to cut Social Security let them live on $1000 a month in Social Security
- Decrease their wages to minimum wage
- If they do not do their jobs (i.e. pass a balanced budget, decrease costs, increase taxes on the wealthy) they're fired without benefits and have to file for unemployment like everyone else
- Get rid of their lifetime healthcare and make them pay for invidual plans at almost $300 a month if they can get it with their pre-existing medical conditions
- Get rid of their travel allowances, that pay for private planes to chauffer them back to their districts. Let them fly Southwest and rent a car or pay for a cab
- Put them in the classrooms for a year, let them try to create lesson plans that comply with district, state and federal No Child Left Behind while attending weekly staff meetings, parent meetings, interrupted school schedules, classroom management etc. and still turn in grades every 6 weeks then deal with irate parents over student grades
In other words get them back to the "real world" where people try to support a family of 4 on social security/disability. Where honest hard working people fill out 1,000s of job applications and still can't find a job. Where you jump through millions of hoops to get unemployment only to have it run out or have the government tell you "you're no longer receiving benefits because you dared go out of town for a 4 day weekend." Where people are turned down for or can't afford health insurance for themselves or their child who's been diagnosed with cancer. Where people *gasp have to live within their means. Where people don't live in mansions, and many have their houses taken away by the banks. Where as John Rich says in "Shuttin Detroit Down" -"Well that old man's been working in that plant most all his life, Now his pension plan's been cut in half and he can't afford to die
And it's a crying shame, cus he ain't the one to Blame. When I looked down to see his calloused hands, Well let me tell you friend it gets me fightin' mad"
And it's a crying shame, cus he ain't the one to Blame. When I looked down to see his calloused hands, Well let me tell you friend it gets me fightin' mad"
Say what you will about LBJ and FDR because they weren't perfect by any standards they were human but at least they got Congress to actually do their jobs! Politics was so much easier on the TV show "The West Wing" who could forget when they closed the federal government because they couldn't come to an agreement on the budget. President Bartlett stops the motorcade to talk with tourists and Josh Lyman asks "You feel like taking a walk Mr. President?" Bartlett walks up to Capitol Hill perverbeable hat in hand only to be kept waiting so long by the Republicans he leaves thereby giving the President the upper hand. Of course the West Wing television show had better writers who wrote a presidential character that actually listens to his ad visors and did what was best for the country not their own bloody political careers.
Granted Obama inherited a mess when he took office, we'd gone from a balanced budget to a deficit of several trillion dollars in 8 years. He inherited two wars with no exit strategies and no end in sight, with military personnel serving 8 or 9 tours. A world where terrorists take out innocent civilians on airplanes, in office buildings, on public transportation. Somewhere we went from "Yes we can" to "Oh crap no we can't Congress won't let us." As someone once said who had served both in Congress and the West Wing when he was in Congress he used to say "What' wrong with those people in the West Wing can't they do anything." Then when he got to the West Wing he's say "What' wrong with those people in the CongressSo it seems they are faced with the perverbeable double edged sword.
So here's a thought make your voice heard loud and clear each year in November exercise your right to overthrow the government and get out and vote.
Author's note for more information on Congressional retirement benefits go to: http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30631.pdf
