| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
When a company falls on difficult times, one of the things that seems to happen is they reduce their staff and workers. The remaining workers have to find ways to continue to do a good job or risk that their job would also be eliminated. Wall street, and the media, normally congratulate the CEO for making this type of "tough decision," and his board of directors gives him a big bonus. Our government should not be immune from similar risks. Therefore: Reduce the House of Representatives from the current 435 members to 218 members and Senate members from 100 to 50 (one per State). Also reduce remaining staff by at least 25%. Accomplish this over the next 8 years (two steps/two elections) and of course this would require some redistricting. Some Yearly Monetary Gains Include: $44,108,400 for elimination of base pay for congress. (267 members X $165,200 pay/member/yr.) $97,175,000 for elimination of the above people's staffs (estimate $1.3 Million in staff per each member of the House, and $3 Million in staff per each member of the Senate every year). $240,294 for the reduction in remaining staff by 25%. $7,500,000,000 reduction in pork barrel ear-marks each year (those members whose jobs are gone. Current estimates for total government pork earmarks are at $15 Billion/yr). The remaining representatives would need to work smarter and would need to improve efficiencies. It might even be in their best interests to work together for the good of our country! We may also expect that smaller committees might lead to a more efficient resolution of issues as well. It would be easier to keep track of what your representative is doing. Congress has more tools available to do their jobs than it had back in 1911 when the current number of representatives was established (telephone, computers, cell phones to name a few). Note: Congress did not hesitate to head home when it was a holiday, when the nation needed a real fix to the economic problems. Also, we have 3 senators that have not been doing their jobs for the past 18+ months (on the campaign trail) and still they all have been accepting full pay. These facts alone support a reduction in senators & congress. Summary of opportunity: $44,108,400 reduction of congress members. $282,100,000 for elimination of the reduced house member staff. $150,000,000 for elimination of reduced senate member staff. $59,675,000 for 25% reduction of staff for remaining house members. $37,500,000 for 25% reduction of staff for remaining senate members. $7,500,000,000 reduction in pork added to bills by the reduction of congress members. $8,073,383,400 per year, estimated total savings. Big business does these types of cuts all the time. If Congresspersons were required to serve 20, 25, or 30 years (like everyone else) in order to collect retirement benefits, there is no telling how much we would save. Now they get full retirement after serving only ONE term. IF you are happy how the Congress spends our taxes, then just ignore this post. If you are NOT at all happy, then I assume you know what to do. I also think they should all be limited to 2 terms. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I like motorcycles. | ||
| Ducxl |
I like Synthetic oil only in my motorcycles'.  | ||
| Badlionsfan |
I like teflon tape and balancing beads. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Can't we move this to the Backfire Board yet? | ||
| Crusty |
Please do. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Since we were switching roles, I was just playing my part.  | ||
| Crusty |
Well, I figure, if I can't beat 'em, join em. I get LOTS of political e-mail from both sides of the fence. Why not share it with folks who enjoy it? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I appreciate your contributions. Thank you for sharing. | ||
| Ourdee |
"A Modest Proposal" was written by Johnathan Swift. Only about 16 or 17 pages long, it is a good read. I believe it would have been sent to the Backfire Board if they had an internet back then. | ||
| Cyclonedon |
hey Crusty, why don't we just get rid of those damn Republicans that screw up everything they touch?  | ||
| Crusty |
Careful; I'm not a Democrat. I'm also not a Republican. I look at things through my own filters, and the hell what anyone else thinks. For my own reasons and from my own experience, I will never support the Insurance industry. I honestly believe that the Government would do a better job of health care management than those parasitic leeches have done. I really wish that the Government hadn't bailed out AIG. I would have watched their demise with great relish. Oh; DON'T RE-ELECT ANYBODY! | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
Crusty, you made me laugh out loud...lmao Did you have a fall and hit your head over the holiday and wake up a conservative ??? | ||
| Bikertrash05 |
Crusty, you made me laugh out loud...lmao Me too!  | ||
| Crusty |
Did you have a fall and hit your head over the holiday and wake up a conservative ??? No; I did not. I am neither a conservative nor am I a liberal. I'm a cranky old bastard with my own opinions. Some could be called liberal, some conservative. For the record, I, and several people close to me, have been screwed by insurance companies. They are the epitome of all the bad aspects of Capitalism. I truly hope there is a special place in hell for their CEOs. (Message edited by Crusty on September 08, 2009) | ||
| Johnnymceldoo |
Who empowers insurance companies? | ||
| Hex |
For the record, I, and several people close to me, have been screwed by insurance companies. Gettin' screwed by the gubment still fells the same! | ||
| Johnnymceldoo |
Hex, watch out saying slang terms like "gubment" or "gang". Some people here are pretty sensitive and may take it as a racial slury. | ||
| Aesquire |
Since a lot of politics grinds down to, "your guy is a bigger sack of cat &*^% than my guy!"... Oh; DON'T RE-ELECT ANYBODY! is very wise advice. | ||
| Cyclonedon |
For the record, I, and several people close to me, have been screwed by insurance companies. They are the epitome of all the bad aspects of Capitalism. I truly hope there is a special place in hell for their CEOs. I agree Crusty! and I think our health care system is right there with them after my motorcycle accident about five years ago when I walked out of the hospital emergency room with a $6000.00 bill and the damn insurance company didn't pay a nickel of the bill, I felt pretty well screwed by both! The next time I won't allow them to take me to the hospital, I'll just hand them my wallet and ask them to screw me right there on the scene and save on the ambulance ride that I also had to pay for out of pocket! I wasn't far from home so I could have walked home instead of having to pay for a taxi ride home from the hospital, again paid for out of my pocket! The thing I learned the most from my experience with dealing with the hospital is always carry your insurance card or papers because that's what they are mostly concerned about, not your medical records! |
