The Time for Action is NOW!

The Time for Action is NOW!

Like most other Americans, I am not pleased by the results of the 2012 election.  I am not speaking about the re-election of President Obama...I'm upset with the blind re-election of the career politicians that brought America to this point in time.

Presidents come and go, that's a given, but when we continue the careers of politicians that have their own personal agendas (think continued re-election), we are making the decision to keep our country from moving forward.

For example, think of those politicians in office that have careers spanning more than 10, 20 or even 30 years in office.  Do you know how many presidents we have gone through in that amount of time?

The late Robert Byrd, from West Virginia, served over 57 years in office, that is at least 7 presidents during his tenure.  Or the late Strom Thurmond from South Carolina...he was in office for 47 years...does anyone believe these people were in touch with average Americans, after being career politicians all their lives?

We have Senators and Congress members that are currently serving terms in office that have been there for over 30 years...none of whom have really done anything , except get re-elected and continue to accrue benefits, pensions and votes.

I hear it all the time..."we need change in Washington", so why are we being idiots and re-electing the same people all the time?  That's not change, that's insanity, as defined by Albert Einstein, who said, "if you continue to do the same thing all the time, yet expect a different result, that's insanity."

I am suggesting that we begin a citizen advocacy group that provides Americans with a voice in making "real" changes in Washington DC by ridding ourselves of any and all elected officials after a maximum of 10 years in Congress and 12 years in the Senate.  Of course, I believe this line of action should apply to all levels of elected officials.

There would be several immediate benefits from this philosophy.  First, we would rid ourselves of the parasites that use elected offices for their own gain.  How many millionaires are in Congress making themselves richer? 

Remember, only recently Congress voted not to allow themselves to gain from inside financial information, and even that backfired when the wording of the resolution excluded family members from this action.

Second, we could save millions over time by having the level of benefits and lifetime pensions reduced.  Did you know that a member of Congress only has to serve a minimum of 5 years before qualifying for a lifetime pension paid for by our taxes?

Most importantly, is instead of having candidates run for office that want to make a career in politics, we would find real leaders wanting to serve and do what is good for the country. 

Nearly all current office holders (at any level of government) want to stay in office as long as possible; none of which believe their effectiveness erodes after a long period of time.  These politicians have the mindset that they have a "lifetime" in office to work to make changes.

If we had elected officials that knew their time was limited in office, they would understand the real need to make effective change within a specified time period.  We would have leaders that want to make changes in positive ways, instead of "kicking the can down the road" every 2 years.

Of course, this is only the initial step in trying to make positive changes in Washington DC.  We need to push for "common sense" solutions on all problems.

At the moment, the country is facing a "fiscal cliff" due to the stupidity of career politicians in Washington DC.  We need to find ways to balance our budget...the operative word is "balance".  This is the type of solution we need to utilize.

The president wants to raise taxes on those who make over $250,000 per year, the Republicans do not want any tax increases, everyone accepts that spending must be reduced, but no one agrees where to start...there is plenty of room for "balance".

I see no reason why the eligibility age for Social Security shouldn't be raised to 67 over a span of years.  This is a no-brainer and anyone that is against it doesn't want true reform.

I see no reason why we can't raise the limit from $250,000 per year of income to at least $500,000 before higher taxes are enacted.  This would reduce the number of small businesses that would be adversely affected by the lower standard of $250,000.

I don't see any reason why we can't give up a battleship, an aircraft carrier, and about 10,000 troops from the military, or how about a reduction of foreign aid to the dozens of prosperous countries we still send money?  This step alone could save well over $100 billion dollars a year and over $1 trillion over 10 years.

I am going to attempt to start an advocacy group for these, and other, common sense solutions for the United States.  Only by acting as a group with one voice, can we make real changes in the way our government (at all levels) operates.

At the bottom of this blog is a Feedback button.  If you have comments, thoughts or suggestions for me, please press the Feedback option and leave your comments.

As I continue down this road, I hope to empower  hundreds, then thousands and more Americans into working together for "real" change.  Remember, change is in the hands of Americans and we must begin to use it effectively.  Otherwise, we can only blame ourselves.