A Right leaning friend of mine posted the above, and it made me think. This was my reply to him:
We need term limits on these positions. We need to consider “lifetime years” in politics, and “years in a specific office.” I think if you’ve spent more than 15 years of your life in a political office, then you need to go find a real job. See, our Founding Fathers? They had real jobs. They worked on farms, were lawyers, land speculators, physicians, ministers, and more. They didn’t sit for years in DC, moping about the halls of the White House (or in Philly before the WH was built). They got out and interacted with We the People. Current people in Congress have no idea what We the People are doing, how we live, or any of that. They are VERY much like the kings of old. They are so removed that they have no clue at all.
If the government is shut down, then it needs to be shut down. That means you don’t pay bills, and you don’t get paid.
And I am damn serious about the budget. I mean every word I wrote. Lock them in and make them eat bad pizza until they figure shit out. I know Trump tried, and he is doing his best, and I’m not blaming him. Right now I am entirely blaming Dems, though I think a couple of red seats are voting with the blue right now. Regardless, this whole CR thing needs to stop, unless it’s an absolute emergency (like we’re in wartime or something, with bombs being dropped on our citizens).
I suspect that if their own money and interests were on the line, as much or moreso than the American people, they’d get it done in a right quick hurry. As it is, this shut down is all about grandstanding and making noise while actual people suffer. And it needs to stop.
Another possible response to this kind of shenanigans by the government is to make it so that anytime there is a government shutdown, the entire Senate has to retire at the end of the current fiscal year, with no possibility of returning to DC or big government. Both sides. Yes, this gives a certain level of power to people… but only at the expense of their own positions. If someone wants another player out THAT badly, sure, make the whole shebang go down. It has to be something that really hurts the current sitting people, enough that they want to avoid it at all costs, but that allows for someone to fall on their metaphorical sword if there’s a problem that’s THAT big.
Me, I don’t mind the government shutting down, per se. I am upset at people being forced to go to work and not get paid. That’s wrong. In any other job, if you stop getting paid, you stop working. I’m not working for free. Fuck that. I believe that the longer the Feds are out of the equation, the more likely it is that We the People will figure out just what we can and can’t do without. That means every day they’re out is another day closer to the majority of voters realizing that help for vulnerable children and adults is more easily dealt with at the local level. It shows we can still get on with our daily lives. What do “those people” actually do? Yes, some of them do good things. But is it worth it? I’m not entirely convinced. Our Founders called for small government.
Our Founders: Pick your government. Pick smaller government than that. Put some government back. THAT’S STILL TOO MUCH GOVERNMENT.
I’ve proposed in the past that elected officials should be paid at whatever the rate was on the day they were first elected (essentially doing one better than the 27th Amendment). That would be a useful deterrent against inflation.