Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Who Wrote That Bill Again?
Did anyone miss this moment from the Feb 25, 2020 Democratic National Debate? (Paraphrased).
Sunday, February 16, 2020
The Real Modern Mafia
Sunday, February 2, 2020
If I could reform Congress
These thoughts are currently incomplete. But I found this on my computer (from 6 years ago) and decided it was time to put these things out there. If I ever think of anything else, I'll have to add it at some point.
All across the Internet, I keep hearing the same complaints: that Congress isn't doing its job, that they're over-paid, that they under-work, that they're out of touch with people in the real world, *and* perhaps worst of all, that they have been bought and paid for by big business. So, if I had any power whatsoever, these are the laws I would pass to reform Congress:
I. Income Reform
1. The Congressional Pay Rate shall be permanently tied to the Minimum Wage, so that for every percentage point the Congressional Pay Rate is raised, the Minimum Wage will be raised by the same percentage. This will be retroactive to 1980, and Congress may resolve the current difference by either raising the Minimum Wage or by lowering the Congressional Pay Rate. Congress may still vote its own pay raises, but by doing so, it will raise the Minimum Wage accordingly.
2. Gifts from Lobbyists are to be limited to a nominal value equal to one hour of the Minimum Wage per recipient per day. Any gift from a Lobbyist that exceeds one hour of the Minimum Wage per recipient per day is to be considered a bribe. Any Lobbyist found to be bribing an elected official is subject to prosecution and any elected official accepting a bribe is subject to prosecution.
3. Members of Congress who perform work outside of their Congressional Duties for pay (writing a book, giving a speech, etc) will donate all proceeds from that work to paying down the National Debt. Congress was elected to govern the country, not line its own pockets.
4. The Congressional Recess (hereafter referred to as "vacation") shall be limited to four (4) weeks. This is a perfectly reasonable amount of time for grown, professional men and women to take vacation. Due to the fact that Congress needs to work together, all Congress People will take vacation simultaneously. The Congress shall determine which four weeks it is collectively on vacation prior to the start of each calendar year. When Congress is not on vacation, each Congress Person will be at work, in the Congressional Chambers for at least 3/5 (three fifths) of what is currently considered "full-time employment" (as of 2014, "full-time employment" is considered 36 - 40 hours per week not including meal times). Congress persons will not be eligible for overtime pay, however a Congress person not working full-time when not on vacation will be absent without pay.
II. Campaign Reform
Rather than prohibit corporations from donating to candidates, and thereby buying those candidates' votes while in office, the following rules should be enforced.
1. There will be no campaign ads from any private organization. All campaign ads must come from the candidate. A campaign ad is to be defined as any publication, whether in paper, video, audio, or electronic form, designed to sway voters for or against one or more candidates for political office or political platforms or political stances. All campaign ads must identify the candidate being campaigned for.
2. Campaign ads must tell the truth. Any campaign running false campaign ads will forfeit their candidacy.
3. Campaign ads shall be funded through a collective fund. All donations for campaigns will go to this one fund and the money in that fund will be distributed to all candidates in proportion to the number of people the candidate is trying to reach. In this way, qualified candidates for President will not be eliminated from running just because they don't have multi-millionaires backing their campaigns.
4. The Primary Season will be eliminated. All primaries will be held on the same day, so that voters in New Jersey have the same choices available to them as voters in Iowa.
II.A. News Reform
1. News agencies must tell the truth. Any accidental inaccuracies must be published as soon as they are identified, and the identification of the inaccuracy is to be given the same weight as the initial inaccuracy. News agencies airing the views of political pundits are to identify false statements as false immediately. News agencies shall also identify the opinions of political pundits as opinions immediately.
All across the Internet, I keep hearing the same complaints: that Congress isn't doing its job, that they're over-paid, that they under-work, that they're out of touch with people in the real world, *and* perhaps worst of all, that they have been bought and paid for by big business. So, if I had any power whatsoever, these are the laws I would pass to reform Congress:
I. Income Reform
1. The Congressional Pay Rate shall be permanently tied to the Minimum Wage, so that for every percentage point the Congressional Pay Rate is raised, the Minimum Wage will be raised by the same percentage. This will be retroactive to 1980, and Congress may resolve the current difference by either raising the Minimum Wage or by lowering the Congressional Pay Rate. Congress may still vote its own pay raises, but by doing so, it will raise the Minimum Wage accordingly.
2. Gifts from Lobbyists are to be limited to a nominal value equal to one hour of the Minimum Wage per recipient per day. Any gift from a Lobbyist that exceeds one hour of the Minimum Wage per recipient per day is to be considered a bribe. Any Lobbyist found to be bribing an elected official is subject to prosecution and any elected official accepting a bribe is subject to prosecution.
3. Members of Congress who perform work outside of their Congressional Duties for pay (writing a book, giving a speech, etc) will donate all proceeds from that work to paying down the National Debt. Congress was elected to govern the country, not line its own pockets.
4. The Congressional Recess (hereafter referred to as "vacation") shall be limited to four (4) weeks. This is a perfectly reasonable amount of time for grown, professional men and women to take vacation. Due to the fact that Congress needs to work together, all Congress People will take vacation simultaneously. The Congress shall determine which four weeks it is collectively on vacation prior to the start of each calendar year. When Congress is not on vacation, each Congress Person will be at work, in the Congressional Chambers for at least 3/5 (three fifths) of what is currently considered "full-time employment" (as of 2014, "full-time employment" is considered 36 - 40 hours per week not including meal times). Congress persons will not be eligible for overtime pay, however a Congress person not working full-time when not on vacation will be absent without pay.
II. Campaign Reform
Rather than prohibit corporations from donating to candidates, and thereby buying those candidates' votes while in office, the following rules should be enforced.
1. There will be no campaign ads from any private organization. All campaign ads must come from the candidate. A campaign ad is to be defined as any publication, whether in paper, video, audio, or electronic form, designed to sway voters for or against one or more candidates for political office or political platforms or political stances. All campaign ads must identify the candidate being campaigned for.
2. Campaign ads must tell the truth. Any campaign running false campaign ads will forfeit their candidacy.
3. Campaign ads shall be funded through a collective fund. All donations for campaigns will go to this one fund and the money in that fund will be distributed to all candidates in proportion to the number of people the candidate is trying to reach. In this way, qualified candidates for President will not be eliminated from running just because they don't have multi-millionaires backing their campaigns.
4. The Primary Season will be eliminated. All primaries will be held on the same day, so that voters in New Jersey have the same choices available to them as voters in Iowa.
II.A. News Reform
1. News agencies must tell the truth. Any accidental inaccuracies must be published as soon as they are identified, and the identification of the inaccuracy is to be given the same weight as the initial inaccuracy. News agencies airing the views of political pundits are to identify false statements as false immediately. News agencies shall also identify the opinions of political pundits as opinions immediately.
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