New Faces New Ideas Part 2

Pop Quiz:

Who is the only Speaker of the House ever to be elected President?

What American philosopher said: “Governments don’t want a population capable of critical thinking, they want obedient workers, people just smart enough to run the machines and just dumb enough to passively accept their situation. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own, and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought, and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear.”?

What American humorist said: “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”?

What military leader said: “If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.”?

Where did the name America come from?

Answers at the end of the post.

A sad characteristic of our political class is that there is rarely an open and honest exchange of ideas. Vituperation, mudslinging and slander are the earmarks of any Congressional “debate”. This suggests that our Congressional representatives have abandoned all pretense of civility and morality. A pawn shop in New York advertises a moral compass once owned by Chuck Schumer and it is described as: “Like new, Never used”

We must discourage the continued election and re-election of professional politicians. As the incomparable Thomas Sowell observed: “No one will really understand politics until they understand that politicians are not trying to solve our problems. They are trying to solve their own problems – of which getting elected and re-elected are number one and number two. Whatever is number three is far behind.”

We must find a way to limit the tenure of the political mediocrities that we have elected to serve in Congress. Here are some ideas for your consideration:

The Senate

The US Senate was once described as the most deliberative body in the world. That term has not been accurate since the administration of Benjamin Harrison. The Constitution provides in Article 1, Section 3, for the election of Senators by the respective state legislatures for a term of six years. There was no limit to the number of terms a Senator could serve.

A total of 25 Senators have served for 35 years or longer. Only one of those Senators was elected before 1900…Francis Warren in 1890. In 1913 the 17th Amendment was ratified. It provided for the direct election of Senators by their respective states. Since that Amendment was ratified 24 of the 25 longest serving Senators were elected for the first time. Direct election helped usher in eternal incumbency.

House of Representatives

Article 1, Section 2 provides for the direct election of Representatives for a term of two years. As with the Senate there is no limit to the number of terms a Representative can serve. 34 Representatives have served for 40 years or more. Only one, Joseph Cannon, was elected prior to 1907.

The Origination Clause in Article 1, Section 7 provides that all Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives. This includes the budget process. The first US budget that exceeded ten million dollars was in 1941, the year that marked the beginning of war preparation. The first budget exceeding $100 billion dollars was passed in 1964, when Viet Nam was heating up, and the budget for 1990 was the first to exceed $1 trillion. The 2024 Federal budget exceeded $6 Trillion. The national debt exceeds $36.6 Trillion. This suggests a need for fiscal discipline which is not in evidence with the present collection of Congressional spendthrifts.

There is a need for new ideas, new perspectives, new solutions and new discipline…out with the old, in with the new.

There is a desperate need for disincentives to remain in government service forever…

Term Limits

Option 1: At the Congressional level we should limit total Senate and House service to 12 years. That would mean six House terms, two Senate terms and/or three House terms and one Senate term. These changes would require a Constitutional Amendment.

Option 2: President Trump has intimated that he would seek a third term.  He may be trolling but it is a good place to start to a discussion of term limits. If he wishes to go forward we should tie it a cap of 18 years of Congressional elective service. Allow a President a third term and limit Senators to a maximum of three terms and Representatives a maximum of nine terms. If a person moves from the House to the Senate or vice versa (after all John Quincy Adams moved from the White House to the House) then the 18 year limit applies. New faces, new ideas.

As these changes would require a Constitutional Amendment we can let the people decide.

Congressional Pensions

Elected officials should be part of the Social Security system and would receive benefits exactly as their constituents do. Along with earning salaries, senators receive retirement and health benefits that are identical to other federal employees and are fully vested after five years of service. The pension value can be up to 80% of the member’s final salary, which is $174,000 per year. At an 80% rate, that’s a pension benefit of $139,200. This is a powerful incentive to hang on to their positions. Going forward no member of Congress should receive a pension.

Campaigns

Individuals running for Senate and House seats must have campaign expenditures limited to, say, $50,000 per election cycle and individual contributions should be limited to $100 per voter. Only individuals registered to vote in the jurisdiction represented by the candidate could make a legal contribution. No corporate contributions would be allowed.

Personal Enrichment

Every elected official must provide a net worth statement before assuming office. Upon leaving office each departing official shall submit a net worth statement as of the last day in office. 75% of any increase shall be paid to the US Treasury. In addition, Congressional salaries will be suspended for any year that the country runs a deficit. This provision would not apply if there is a national emergency that required significant off-budget expenditures. Declaring a national emergency will require a bill passed by two thirds vote of both houses. This bill would then be subject to possible a Presidential veto.

We would love to get your feedback on these proposals…maybe we can get Trump interested in implementing ideas as part of his ongoing clean-up on Aisle 47. Use the Leave a Reply feature at the end of the post.

Pop Quiz answers:

Who is the only Speaker of the House ever to be elected President? James K. Polk

What American philosopher said: “Governments don’t want a population capable of critical thinking, they want obedient workers, people just smart enough to run the machines and just dumb enough to passively accept their situation.You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own, and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought, and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear.”? George Carlin

What American humorist said: “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”? Mark Twain

What military leader said: “If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.”? George S. Patton

Where did the name America come from? Amerigo Vespucci