Author Topic: Congressional Reform Act of 2011  (Read 2111 times)

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Offline 7StringedBeast

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Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« on: October 19, 2011, 09:41:43 AM »
Quote
Warren Buffet is asking each of us to forward a copy of the *Congressional Reform Act of 2011* to a minimum of twenty people and in turn to ask each of those to do likewise. In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.

*Congressional Reform Act of 2011*
1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social
Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to theSocial Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise.
Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and
participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void
effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work. If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S.) to receive the message. Maybe it is time. THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS

The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971...before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc. Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure.

Not sure if this is real, but I've seen it floating around facebook.  I could stand behind these changes.  Our government needs a swift kick in the ass.  I'm sick of congress not working for the people and something has to change.
If anyone in this thread judge him; heyy James WTF? about you in Awake In Japan? Then I will say; WTF about you silly?

Offline GuineaPig

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #1 on: October 19, 2011, 09:47:49 AM »
I think the "no pension" thing is stupid.  You don't want Congressmen trying to save up for the rest of their lives while in office.
"In the beginning, the universe was created. This made a lot of people very angry, and has been widely regarded as a bad idea."

Offline jsem

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #2 on: October 19, 2011, 09:49:43 AM »
Sounds like what Ron Paul has been voluntarily doing for his entire political life. I find this hard to get through congress, the politicians have a self-interest here. I hope it does pass if it ever comes to a vote.

Offline antigoon

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #3 on: October 19, 2011, 09:52:18 AM »
This is difficult. On one hand, we want our Congressmen to be very well-paid and compensated so it attracts the best and brightest. On the other hand, we want to make sure they're still in touch with their constituencies needs. It's a tough balance to strike.

Offline 7StringedBeast

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #4 on: October 19, 2011, 09:53:58 AM »
The fact is, now they can sit there and work even when they decide not to go in to work for some stupid political reason or another.  I agree that Congress should not be a career. 
If anyone in this thread judge him; heyy James WTF? about you in Awake In Japan? Then I will say; WTF about you silly?

Offline zxlkho

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #5 on: October 19, 2011, 09:55:38 AM »
Eliminate lobbying.
I AM A GUY
You're a fucking stupid bitch.
Orion....that's the one with a bunch of power chords and boringly harsh vocals, isn't it?

Offline 7StringedBeast

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #6 on: October 19, 2011, 09:57:12 AM »
I also think it should be illegal for anyone running for public office to take donations from corporations.  I also think all campaigns should be capped at a certain amount of money.  Then we can see who can do the most with the money they have.
If anyone in this thread judge him; heyy James WTF? about you in Awake In Japan? Then I will say; WTF about you silly?

Offline antigoon

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #7 on: October 19, 2011, 09:59:09 AM »
Eliminate lobbying.
Lobbying is OK, it's the money that comes along with it that has a corrupting influence. I think this proposal has some merit, but I favor the Get Money Out movement primarily because it gets to the root of the problem.

Offline zxlkho

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #8 on: October 19, 2011, 10:01:15 AM »
Eliminate lobbying.
Lobbying is OK, it's the money that comes along with it that has a corrupting influence. I think this proposal has some merit, but I favor the Get Money Out movement primarily because it gets to the root of the problem.


Yeah that's mostly what I was referring to. It's obviously okay to try to influence congress, because that's how you let them know what needs to be done in the first place.
I AM A GUY
You're a fucking stupid bitch.
Orion....that's the one with a bunch of power chords and boringly harsh vocals, isn't it?

Offline 7StringedBeast

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #9 on: October 19, 2011, 10:05:24 AM »
The Get Money Out movement is something I can definitely stand behind as well.  However, I think that it would be better to add in a cap to how much a federal candidate can spend on a campaign.  I like the idea of a holiday in order to vote.

I don't know if any donations should be allowed.  If there are, a cap of $100 dollars seems legit if it is coming from a private citizen. 
If anyone in this thread judge him; heyy James WTF? about you in Awake In Japan? Then I will say; WTF about you silly?

Offline antigoon

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #10 on: October 19, 2011, 10:09:43 AM »
Yeah, as useless as the establishment media is, Dylan Ratigan is doing a good thing using his show as a platform to get the word out. https://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/44935929#44935929

Offline Scheavo

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #11 on: October 19, 2011, 11:52:48 AM »
Sounds like what Ron Paul has been voluntarily doing for his entire political life. I find this hard to get through congress, the politicians have a self-interest here. I hope it does pass if it ever comes to a vote.

Theoretically, we can bypass congress and institute some of these changes through amendments (a lot of them would really need to be done that way anyways).

Offline Bone_Daddy

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #12 on: October 19, 2011, 11:55:55 AM »
Has this bill been drawn up?

Offline 7StringedBeast

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #13 on: October 19, 2011, 11:56:36 AM »
From what I understand it's just a draft of a proposed or soon to be proposed Amendment.
If anyone in this thread judge him; heyy James WTF? about you in Awake In Japan? Then I will say; WTF about you silly?

Offline Bone_Daddy

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #14 on: October 19, 2011, 11:58:42 AM »
Interesting. I would like to see this happen and see how it is voted on. I would also like to hear Ron Paul's thoughts on it.

Offline PraXis

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #15 on: October 19, 2011, 12:18:20 PM »
Dr. Ron Paul does all that voluntarily already.  :metal

Offline kirksnosehair

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #16 on: October 19, 2011, 12:23:38 PM »
From what I understand it's just a draft of a proposed or soon to be proposed Amendment.


Er, not quite

Offline 7StringedBeast

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #17 on: October 19, 2011, 12:49:12 PM »
Ok so its a draft of a possibly to be proposed amendment.
If anyone in this thread judge him; heyy James WTF? about you in Awake In Japan? Then I will say; WTF about you silly?

Offline kirksnosehair

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #18 on: October 19, 2011, 12:53:42 PM »
Ok so its a draft of a possibly to be proposed amendment.

No, it's not  :lol   It's a gaffe that's been on the internet for about 5 years now, you'll find on Snopes.com under several various names, but mostly as:

The Congressional Reform Act of 2008
The Congressional Reform Act of 2009
The Congressional Reform Act of 2010
etc
etc


Offline 7StringedBeast

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #19 on: October 19, 2011, 01:03:56 PM »
Ok but still technically it is a draft of something.  Also it could possibly be proposed under different revisions.  So its still a draft that could possibly be proposed, even if unlikely to be.

Either way, this is the part that got me hung up on it

Quote
Is this really the proposed 28th Amendment?

This item is a "proposed 28th amendment" only in the very loose and simplistic sense that any change to the U.S. Constitution suggested since the ratification of the 27th Amendment is a "proposed 28th Amendment." However, this item is just a bit of Internet-based politicking, not something that has been introduced or proposed as a potential amendment by any current member of Congress.  It's also rather unlikely that such a broadly worded amendment could pass muster; the underlying idea would necessarily require a good many qualifications.

Anyways, I think there is still some merit to some of the points made even those some are based on misnomers. 

I am much more interested in the get money out of politics movement.
If anyone in this thread judge him; heyy James WTF? about you in Awake In Japan? Then I will say; WTF about you silly?

Offline antigoon

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #20 on: October 19, 2011, 01:06:29 PM »
Do you think it deserves its own thread? Or should we just leave it here?

Offline 7StringedBeast

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Re: Congressional Reform Act of 2011
« Reply #21 on: October 19, 2011, 01:08:12 PM »
I'll do a thread title change.

Edit:  Actually I have no idea how to change the thread title.
If anyone in this thread judge him; heyy James WTF? about you in Awake In Japan? Then I will say; WTF about you silly?