The concept of term limits for members of Congress has been around for quite some time and, obviously, hasn't caught on yet. The major obstacle to term limits is that to change the terms of Congressmen and Senators requires an amendment(s) to the Constitution which requires a great deal of input from and involvement by Congress (see Article Five of the United States Constitution). Based on the current trend in Congress where members attempt to make Congress their careers, it would be extremely difficult to convince Congress it needs to introduce an amendment limiting the number of terms they can serve. However, it's not impossible. If enough of us demanded term limits to our representatives in Congress and in our State legislatures, it could happen.
There are a number of advantages to limiting Congressional terms, and, in particular, to one term only. If there is no chance for a Congressman or Senator to succeed themself in office, they would no longer need to worry about votes in upcoming elections and they might just act according to what they believe is best for the country rather than for their career. We also might find that, since Congress is no longer a career option, more people, from all different types of backgrounds and experiences may be interested in serving which could bring a fresh perspective to Congress. Just the turnover of representatives in itself, constantly bringing new individuals into the Congress, would be refreshing. You can also think of a number of advantages, all of which together would combine to give us a Congress that is more representative of our population and more interested in making our nation better. And finally, were we to be successful in convincing Congress to pass legislation limiting or abolishing contributions, we would have a Congress of individuals free to act as their own people, exercising their own minds and doing what they think is right and best for their constituents and America rather than what some special interest group/contributor thinks.
If you are interested in term limits for Congress, let your representatives both in Congress and in your State legislature know. Also, you can find other information about and organizations for (and maybe against) term limits by doing an internet search on "term limits for Congress".
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
The Issues, No. 3 - The Role of Votes
In order to win elections to first get into a political office and then to remain in office for additional terms, our politicians have to obtain more votes than their competitors. In its simplest form, the person who gets the most votes is the one the voters believe will do the best job for them. However, there is a downside to this.
In an election contest, one candidate says he wants to lower taxes and increase funding for the public schools. The other candidate says he wants to increase funding for the public schools but in order to do it, he will propose an increase in taxes to provide the needed funding. So, who would you vote for? Most people would vote for the guy who wants to lower taxes. The guy who said he would propose an increase in taxes hasn't got a chance even though he may be right in that the only way to pay for the increase in funding for the schools, without increasing the public debt, is to increase taxes. This scenario is typical of what goes on in Congress today.
Our country is in serious debt. One of the major reasons is that most members of Congress would prefer to increase government services without increasing (and maybe even lowering) taxes and, instead, borrow to pay for the increased services. The reason they don't raise taxes is because, if they did, their constituents may not vote for them in thier next re-election effort. Borrowing doesn't adversely affect their constituents, at least in the present; their constituents don't care or aren't concerned about the debt increasing; and they just continue happily along putting the country deeper and deeper into debt. Of course, another problem associated with votes, is that Congress does not tackle any controversial issues such as universal health care or salvaging the Social Security System. The reason is that they may be forced to take a position that may cost them votes.
So, what's the solution? We could try to educate the public but most of the public doesn't care. We could attempt to amend the Constitution to limit terms in Congress to one term so that once elected, Congressmen and Senators might do what they think is best for the country rather than for their political futures. Or, maybe we could do both. The American Dream Machine is an attempt to educate, but the media, our schools, and even members of Congress could do much more to educate the American people about the Constitution, our government, and the consequences of Congressional actions. And, tomorrow we will address term limits.
In an election contest, one candidate says he wants to lower taxes and increase funding for the public schools. The other candidate says he wants to increase funding for the public schools but in order to do it, he will propose an increase in taxes to provide the needed funding. So, who would you vote for? Most people would vote for the guy who wants to lower taxes. The guy who said he would propose an increase in taxes hasn't got a chance even though he may be right in that the only way to pay for the increase in funding for the schools, without increasing the public debt, is to increase taxes. This scenario is typical of what goes on in Congress today.
Our country is in serious debt. One of the major reasons is that most members of Congress would prefer to increase government services without increasing (and maybe even lowering) taxes and, instead, borrow to pay for the increased services. The reason they don't raise taxes is because, if they did, their constituents may not vote for them in thier next re-election effort. Borrowing doesn't adversely affect their constituents, at least in the present; their constituents don't care or aren't concerned about the debt increasing; and they just continue happily along putting the country deeper and deeper into debt. Of course, another problem associated with votes, is that Congress does not tackle any controversial issues such as universal health care or salvaging the Social Security System. The reason is that they may be forced to take a position that may cost them votes.
So, what's the solution? We could try to educate the public but most of the public doesn't care. We could attempt to amend the Constitution to limit terms in Congress to one term so that once elected, Congressmen and Senators might do what they think is best for the country rather than for their political futures. Or, maybe we could do both. The American Dream Machine is an attempt to educate, but the media, our schools, and even members of Congress could do much more to educate the American people about the Constitution, our government, and the consequences of Congressional actions. And, tomorrow we will address term limits.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The Issues, No. 2 - Contributions
Congressmen have to run for office every two years, Senators every six years. To run an effective election campaign requires a lot of money. Congressmen and Senators spend large amounts of time in fund raising activities. They even organize fund raising events and issue invitations to potential contributors with offers of different levels of access to themselves depending upon how large the contribution. Because of their two year terms, Congressmen are almost constantly involved in these activities, so much so that it interferes with their lawmaking responsibilities.
When you think about it, the whole business of campaign contributions is pretty ugly. If it's not legalized bribery, it's the next thing to it. It has a huge effect on how Congressman or Senators act and interferes with their ability to exercise their own judgment and approach issues with an open mind. And, the contribution business is out of control to the point that our Congress is being run by the special interest groups and for the special interest groups that are providing the bulk of the campaign funding. Contributions, for instance, from the interest groups that represent the oil companies are a reason why Congress won't provide increased funding for research on alternative fuel sources or require that all vehicles be powered by hybrid engines in a short period of time. Contributions from the National Rifle Association are a reason why Congress does nothing to tighten our nations gun laws.
The solution to this contribution problem is not simple. Maybe campaign contributions should be made illegal or limited such that no one organization or individual can contribute over a certain amount. Perhaps only the government should funds campaigns. At any rate, Americans should be outraged at the current system that puts the interests of our organizations that fund election campaigns over the interests of all of the American people. Let your Congressman and Senators know that you want them stop the current practice of campaign contributions and find an alternative solution that will not obligate them to anything or anyone other than all of thier constituents and the American people as a whole.
When you think about it, the whole business of campaign contributions is pretty ugly. If it's not legalized bribery, it's the next thing to it. It has a huge effect on how Congressman or Senators act and interferes with their ability to exercise their own judgment and approach issues with an open mind. And, the contribution business is out of control to the point that our Congress is being run by the special interest groups and for the special interest groups that are providing the bulk of the campaign funding. Contributions, for instance, from the interest groups that represent the oil companies are a reason why Congress won't provide increased funding for research on alternative fuel sources or require that all vehicles be powered by hybrid engines in a short period of time. Contributions from the National Rifle Association are a reason why Congress does nothing to tighten our nations gun laws.
The solution to this contribution problem is not simple. Maybe campaign contributions should be made illegal or limited such that no one organization or individual can contribute over a certain amount. Perhaps only the government should funds campaigns. At any rate, Americans should be outraged at the current system that puts the interests of our organizations that fund election campaigns over the interests of all of the American people. Let your Congressman and Senators know that you want them stop the current practice of campaign contributions and find an alternative solution that will not obligate them to anything or anyone other than all of thier constituents and the American people as a whole.
Monday, July 28, 2008
The Issues, No. 1 - Who's Responsible?
It is appropriate that the first issue we are going to discuss is the issue of responsibility. Our Congress certainly has its shortcomings and the majority of the issues that follow will focus on Congress, but some of the problems we have as a nation and as individuals can be attributed to a misunderstanding of who is responsible for what.
There are many examples that demonstrate a misunderstanding of responsibility. We'll touch on two. Frst, a whole lot of people bought houses with fantastic Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) that had very low interest rates to begin but after a certain number of years the interest rates "adjusted" upward substantially. The terms of the mortages were all contained in the mortgage contracts that the individual buyers had to sign agreeing to the terms. When the mortgage rates adjusted, a whole lot of people could no longer afford the monthly payments. Many people lost their homes and the bottom fell out of the housing market which has had a huge effect on the nation's economy. Certainly, many of those people who were given these mortgages should never have qualified for the loans they were given and mortgage companies should take some responsibility for those situations, but ultimately, shouldn't the individual buyers be responsible? They had contracts that they didn't bother to read and understand and now the government is in the process of attempting to fix the problem. So, who's responsible?
Secondly, and this may sound cold to many of you, but when you own a house on land that is below sea level, protected by man made dikes, and in an area of the country that is sometimes in the path of hurricanes, is it the government's responsibility to re-build your house and your neighborhood when a hurricane hits, destroys the dikes, floods your neighborhood, and ruins your house? Nobody was forced to buy a house and live in New Orleans. This is America and people in America can live wherever they want. So, if you choose to live in New Orleans, don't you think you should be responsible for what happens? So, who's responsible?
The point we are trying to make here is that the Congress, or the government, or somebody else is not always, and, as a matter of fact, is almost never responsible for the bad things that happen. Generally speaking, we, as a nation, seem to think that whatever bad happens is the responsibility of somebody else. No one seems to want to accept responsibility for their own actions. When something happens we either whine to our local, state, or national representatives or we try and find somebody to sue. Many times our governments and the courts come to our rescue and far too many times these rescues set the example that individuals do not need to be responsible.
So, in conclusion, if we want to let anyone know that we are not satisfied with our governments fixing bad situations that should be the responsibility of individuals or businesses who brought the problems on themselves, we should let our representatives know that we are tired of what's going on and that we want them to avoid wherever possible bailing out individuals or businesses that should take responsibility for their own actions. And, before we go off complaining to our governments about any problem we want them to solve, we should first ask the question, "Who's Responsible?"
There are many examples that demonstrate a misunderstanding of responsibility. We'll touch on two. Frst, a whole lot of people bought houses with fantastic Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) that had very low interest rates to begin but after a certain number of years the interest rates "adjusted" upward substantially. The terms of the mortages were all contained in the mortgage contracts that the individual buyers had to sign agreeing to the terms. When the mortgage rates adjusted, a whole lot of people could no longer afford the monthly payments. Many people lost their homes and the bottom fell out of the housing market which has had a huge effect on the nation's economy. Certainly, many of those people who were given these mortgages should never have qualified for the loans they were given and mortgage companies should take some responsibility for those situations, but ultimately, shouldn't the individual buyers be responsible? They had contracts that they didn't bother to read and understand and now the government is in the process of attempting to fix the problem. So, who's responsible?
Secondly, and this may sound cold to many of you, but when you own a house on land that is below sea level, protected by man made dikes, and in an area of the country that is sometimes in the path of hurricanes, is it the government's responsibility to re-build your house and your neighborhood when a hurricane hits, destroys the dikes, floods your neighborhood, and ruins your house? Nobody was forced to buy a house and live in New Orleans. This is America and people in America can live wherever they want. So, if you choose to live in New Orleans, don't you think you should be responsible for what happens? So, who's responsible?
The point we are trying to make here is that the Congress, or the government, or somebody else is not always, and, as a matter of fact, is almost never responsible for the bad things that happen. Generally speaking, we, as a nation, seem to think that whatever bad happens is the responsibility of somebody else. No one seems to want to accept responsibility for their own actions. When something happens we either whine to our local, state, or national representatives or we try and find somebody to sue. Many times our governments and the courts come to our rescue and far too many times these rescues set the example that individuals do not need to be responsible.
So, in conclusion, if we want to let anyone know that we are not satisfied with our governments fixing bad situations that should be the responsibility of individuals or businesses who brought the problems on themselves, we should let our representatives know that we are tired of what's going on and that we want them to avoid wherever possible bailing out individuals or businesses that should take responsibility for their own actions. And, before we go off complaining to our governments about any problem we want them to solve, we should first ask the question, "Who's Responsible?"
Friday, July 25, 2008
No. 5 - Final Thoughts About Congress
To wrap up the end of the first five days of The American Dream Machine, and before we get to the issues in the next posting, we should present some final thoughts about Congress that may help give us perspective. First, Congress is large. There are 435 individuals in the House of Representatives and 100 individuals in the Senate. To enact a piece of legislation from introduction to eventual passage is a very cumbersome, deliberative, and lengthy process. It's a wonder any laws are ever passed.
A large number of Senators and Congressmen come from wealthy backgrounds and never had to personally struggle to feed and house a family, to find a job, or gain health care for their family. A large number of Senators and Congressmen are lawyers, and it appears also that many Senators and Congressmen never had a regular job before becoming professional politicians.
The Senate and the House each have a hierarchy of leadership that is very strong and very influential in deciding what issues are addressed and how it wants its membership to vote. The leader of each house is always a member of the political party that has the majority of members in that house. For instance, the majority of the members of the House of Representatives are members of the Democratic Party. Therefore, since the Democrats currently have a majority in the House of Representatives, a Democrat, Nancy Pelosi, is the Speaker of the House.
Senators and Congressmen seem to enjoy playing "Democrats vs. Republicans" as the majority party seems to like to make life difficult for the minority party. It appears that this "game" is often vicious and vindictive and interferes with genuine efforts to improve America.
There probably are other observations that we could make about Congress but we don't need to present them now. They will appear in the issues we discuss in the future. We just thought it was appropriate to present the above to provide a basic perspective before we get down to business.
So, now that we've set the stage with five days of background, we are ready to start with the issues. Beginning with the next posting we will present an issue a day. Hopefully, the issues we present will stimulate your thoughts and emotions so that you will express your ideas to your representatives in Congress. We encourage you also to let us know what you think about this Blog and what issues you think we should cover.
A large number of Senators and Congressmen come from wealthy backgrounds and never had to personally struggle to feed and house a family, to find a job, or gain health care for their family. A large number of Senators and Congressmen are lawyers, and it appears also that many Senators and Congressmen never had a regular job before becoming professional politicians.
The Senate and the House each have a hierarchy of leadership that is very strong and very influential in deciding what issues are addressed and how it wants its membership to vote. The leader of each house is always a member of the political party that has the majority of members in that house. For instance, the majority of the members of the House of Representatives are members of the Democratic Party. Therefore, since the Democrats currently have a majority in the House of Representatives, a Democrat, Nancy Pelosi, is the Speaker of the House.
Senators and Congressmen seem to enjoy playing "Democrats vs. Republicans" as the majority party seems to like to make life difficult for the minority party. It appears that this "game" is often vicious and vindictive and interferes with genuine efforts to improve America.
There probably are other observations that we could make about Congress but we don't need to present them now. They will appear in the issues we discuss in the future. We just thought it was appropriate to present the above to provide a basic perspective before we get down to business.
So, now that we've set the stage with five days of background, we are ready to start with the issues. Beginning with the next posting we will present an issue a day. Hopefully, the issues we present will stimulate your thoughts and emotions so that you will express your ideas to your representatives in Congress. We encourage you also to let us know what you think about this Blog and what issues you think we should cover.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
What Motivates Congress
It appears that the majority of Congresssmen and Senators are motivated by two things; votes and money. In order to initially become elected and then to continue to win elections to remain in office, our Congressmen and Senators need to receive more votes than their opponents. Therefore, it is logical to assume that they are interested in only doing or saying things that will get them votes, or conversely, in not doing or saying anything that might cost them votes. If that assumption is correct, they will never associate themselves with legislation that might, for instance, require an increase in personal income taxes, even if that is what is really needed to solve a particular problem. Maybe that is why it is so difficult for Congress to tackle a national health insurance system or to salvage our Social Security system.
Money is another motivator for our Congressmen and Senators. Election campaigns can be very expensive as we've all seen with the current campaigns for the 2008 Presidential election. Most Congressmen and Senators don't have the personal funds required to conduct a highly contested campaign. To obtain the funding they require, they solicit funds from the people they represent and from any lobby organization, Political Action Committee (PAC), or any other source that might contribute. It, therefore, is logical to assume that if the National Rifle Association (NRA), for instance, donates money to their campaign, that, if elected, they will not take any legislative action that will not support the goals of the NRA and they will vote for any legislation that supports the NRA, whether or not it is good for the country. Maybe that is a contributor as to why we have so much crime involving guns in our country.
So, when we get to a discussion of issues in future postings, it is important that we keep these motivators in mind. They appear to play a large part in the legislative process and some of the major issues we will discuss will involve suggestions as to how the influence of these two motivators might be diminished.
Money is another motivator for our Congressmen and Senators. Election campaigns can be very expensive as we've all seen with the current campaigns for the 2008 Presidential election. Most Congressmen and Senators don't have the personal funds required to conduct a highly contested campaign. To obtain the funding they require, they solicit funds from the people they represent and from any lobby organization, Political Action Committee (PAC), or any other source that might contribute. It, therefore, is logical to assume that if the National Rifle Association (NRA), for instance, donates money to their campaign, that, if elected, they will not take any legislative action that will not support the goals of the NRA and they will vote for any legislation that supports the NRA, whether or not it is good for the country. Maybe that is a contributor as to why we have so much crime involving guns in our country.
So, when we get to a discussion of issues in future postings, it is important that we keep these motivators in mind. They appear to play a large part in the legislative process and some of the major issues we will discuss will involve suggestions as to how the influence of these two motivators might be diminished.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The United States Congress
Before we get to issues that we want or need our Congress to address, it is important that we understand the basics of Congress. The Congress of the United States, the Legislative Branch of our government, makes our laws and is composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are a total of one hundred Senators or two for each state and four hundred and thirty five Congressmen (this includes both Congressmen and Congresswomen) in the House of Representatives. Most Americans are represented in Congress by one Congressman and two Senators (the District of Columbia does not have Congressmen or Senators). A Congressman's term of office is two years and Congressmen can serve an unlimited number of consecutive terms as long as they can win an election every two years. A Senator's term of office is six years and Senators can serve an unlimited number of consecutive terms also as long as they can win an election every six years.
The Constitution of the United States defines the powers of Congress and specific actions that can be performed or initiated by only the Senate or the House of Representatives. If you are interested, you can purchase a copy of the Constitution in a bookstore or you can find the Constitution on the internet by searching for "Constitution of the United States".
In the next posting, we will discuss reasons why Congress does not act and following that, in future postings, we will discuss possible solutions. Many of these possible solutions will become issues which we, individually, will want to discuss with our representatives.
The Constitution of the United States defines the powers of Congress and specific actions that can be performed or initiated by only the Senate or the House of Representatives. If you are interested, you can purchase a copy of the Constitution in a bookstore or you can find the Constitution on the internet by searching for "Constitution of the United States".
In the next posting, we will discuss reasons why Congress does not act and following that, in future postings, we will discuss possible solutions. Many of these possible solutions will become issues which we, individually, will want to discuss with our representatives.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
How to Let them Know
Yesterday we talked about how inaction by Congress is making it difficult for many Americans to attain the basic American Dream of good health, safety, and financial security. We concluded by saying that, in order to encourage Congress to act, it is necessary for us to let our representatives know what we expect of them.
Before we go further, it's important that we all know how to contact our representatives. Most of us have three representatives in the U.S. Congress; two Senators and one Congressman/ Congresswoman. Most, if not all of them, have web sites, and to locate them, all that is necessary is to perform an internet search on the representative's name, find the web site from the list that comes up and click on it. Once you are on the web site, find the contact information which may include office telephone numbers, office addresses, and/or a method to send an email.
If you are like many of us, you may not know the names of all of your representatives. To find the names, you can ask a neighbor, call the local number for the League of Women Voters, or search the internet for Senators and/or Congressmen from your state.
Whatever you do, if you want to become active in the American Dream Machine, you need to know who your representatives are and how to contact them, and you need to contact them frequently to let them know what you expect from them. Hopefully, future posts of The American Dream Machine will stir you to make that contact.
Before we go further, it's important that we all know how to contact our representatives. Most of us have three representatives in the U.S. Congress; two Senators and one Congressman/ Congresswoman. Most, if not all of them, have web sites, and to locate them, all that is necessary is to perform an internet search on the representative's name, find the web site from the list that comes up and click on it. Once you are on the web site, find the contact information which may include office telephone numbers, office addresses, and/or a method to send an email.
If you are like many of us, you may not know the names of all of your representatives. To find the names, you can ask a neighbor, call the local number for the League of Women Voters, or search the internet for Senators and/or Congressmen from your state.
Whatever you do, if you want to become active in the American Dream Machine, you need to know who your representatives are and how to contact them, and you need to contact them frequently to let them know what you expect from them. Hopefully, future posts of The American Dream Machine will stir you to make that contact.
Monday, July 21, 2008
The American Dream
In general, all Americans dream that they will be healthy, safe, and financially secure for as long as they live. That probably is the most basic "American Dream". Even that, however, is difficult for many of us to attain. Some of it, such as health care which includes Medicare, limiting crime, and Social Security are elements which, to some degree, are influenced, if not controlled, by our government. Currently, as a nation, we have serious problems with health care, crime, and our Social Security system as well as other problems such as energy which our government (Congress) can't seem to effectively deal with. That inability on the part of our Congress interferes with the abilityof many Americans to attain the basic American Dream. Therefore, we need to let our representatives in Washington know that we expect them to do whatever they need to do to solve these problems. In the future we'll talk about why Congress doesn't act and what we, as individuals, can do to help make America better.
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