If we don't vote....

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grannysoo":2dg3mp6d said:
Will they all go away? :banana:

interesting. What about this plan:

Eliminate all US Representative positions but keep the Senators. When the Senators formulate a new law, everyone in the country gets to vote for the law.
 
Jogeephus":35lcvdbv said:
Sounds doable. And what about this. For each new law put on the books 2 must be removed.


There are so many laws on the books it guarantees a high demand for lawyers to manage the volume. You know what happens when lawyers can't find work don't you?
 
If they propose or vote for two laws that are found unconstitutional, they go home for good
 
Salaries and Benefits of US Congress Members

By Robert Longley, About.com

Rank-and-File Members:
The current salary (2009) for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $174,000 per year.

* Members are free to turn down pay increase and some choose to do so.
* In a complex system of calculations, administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, congressional pay rates also affect the salaries for federal judges and other senior government executives.
* During the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin considered proposing that elected government officials not be paid for their service. Other Founding Fathers, however, decided otherwise.
* From 1789 to 1855, members of Congress received only a per diem (daily payment) of $6.00 while in session, except for a period from December 1815 to March 1817, when they received $1,500 a year. Members began receiving an annual salary in 1855, when they were paid $3,000 per year.

Congress: Leadership Members' Salary (2009)
Leaders of the House and Senate are paid a higher salary than rank-and-file members.

Senate Leadership
Majority Party Leader - $193,400
Minority Party Leader - $193,400

House Leadership
Speaker of the House - $223,500
Majority Leader - $193,400
Minority Leader - $193,400

A cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) increase takes effect annually unless Congress votes to not accept it.

Benefits Paid to Members of Congress

You may have read that Members of Congress do not pay into Social Security. Well, that's a myth.

Prior to 1984, neither Members of Congress nor any other federal civil service employee paid Social Security taxes. Of course, the were also not eligible to receive Social Security benefits. Members of Congress and other federal employees were instead covered by a separate pension plan called the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). The 1983 amendments to the Social Security Act required federal employees first hired after 1983 to participate in Social Security. These amendments also required all Members of Congress to participate in Social Security as of January 1, 1984, regardless of when they first entered Congress. Because the CSRS was not designed to coordinate with Social Security, Congress directed the development of a new retirement plan for federal workers. The result was the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986.

Members of Congress receive retirement and health benefits under the same plans available to other federal employees. They become vested after five years of full participation.

Members elected since 1984 are covered by the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS). Those elected prior to 1984 were covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). In 1984 all members were given the option of remaining with CSRS or switching to FERS.

As it is for all other federal employees, congressional retirement is funded through taxes and the participants' contributions. Members of Congress under FERS contribute 1.3 percent of their salary into the FERS retirement plan and pay 6.2 percent of their salary in Social Security taxes.

Members of Congress are not eligible for a pension until they reach the age of 50, but only if they've completed 20 years of service. Members are eligible at any age after completing 25 years of service or after they reach the age of 62. Please also note that Members of Congress have to serve at least 5 years to even receive a pension.

The amount of a congressperson's pension depends on the years of service and the average of the highest 3 years of his or her salary. By law, the starting amount of a Member's retirement annuity may not exceed 80% of his or her final salary.

According to the Congressional Research Service, 413 retired Members of Congress were receiving federal pensions based fully or in part on their congressional service as of Oct. 1, 2006. Of this number, 290 had retired under CSRS and were receiving an average annual pension of $60,972. A total of 123 Members had retired with service under both CSRS and FERS or with service under FERS only. Their average annual pension was $35,952 in 2006.
 
grannysoo":p1ifzyrs said:
The current salary (2009) for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $174,000 per year.

So........ why would any sane person spend millions of dollars to obtain a position that pays only $174K per year?
 
$174,000 + bribes and other corruption, + all you can steal.

Sort of like the piano player in the house of ill repute. :banana:
 
snichols264":2cjd76xj said:
Hereford, hope I'm not setting myself up, but is the answer "become politicians"?

That is one place they can go to find work. Most politicians are lawmakers.

Ambulance chasers is what I had in mind. When different parties take control, you can see the difference. One side wants many laws. The other side wants fewer laws.
 
grannysoo":2eotemb1 said:
Is there really any difference between the two levers in the voting booth?

Good question!

Medicare was passed in 1965 and has about $36 Trillion in unfunded liabilities (heresay). Let me write this number down....

$36,000,000,000,000

Both sides have been fighting over the Health Care public option amongst other important items.

But, the public option has already been there for decades but you never hear too many from any side say it. I heard one the other day say it.
 
36 TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTrillion

Yes, that's T in front of that number. Politicians throw around that T word and don't think twice about it. Shows just how disconnected they are with the people.
 
grannysoo":6qodqtu1 said:
36 TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTrillion

Yes, that's T in front of that number. Politicians throw around that T word and don't think twice about it. Shows just how disconnected they are with the people.


Once you get the masses dependent on something, how are you going to write a bill and vote against it? It would be political suicide for a lawmaker to try to write a law to replace medicare. We are going to have to wait until we are forced to change. You can see the issue if you study it, but it is a huge beast and it will eat you alive. It breathes.

Say you are a poppy grower in Ahghanistan. You and your buddy farmers export 1/2 to Russian and 1/2 to the West through Europe for a total retail value of 1/2 Trillion dollars or about 80 Billion dollars wholesale. If you quit growing poppies, what will happen to all those addicted and the underground economies depending on the money? Once a person is addicted, they will do anything in their power to keep it.

What is the difference between American Medicare system and the heroin system?
 
HerefordSire":3utezg0i said:
grannysoo":3utezg0i said:
Is there really any difference between the two levers in the voting booth?

Good question!

Medicare was passed in 1965 and has about $36 Trillion in unfunded liabilities (heresay). Let me write this number down....

$36,000,000,000,000

Both sides have been fighting over the Health Care public option amongst other important items.

But, the public option has already been there for decades but you never hear too many from any side say it. I heard one the other day say it.



I made a mistake. The $37T is only for Medicare part A and ignores the other portions of Medicare. Here is a link that also discusses the unfunded liability of Soocial Security...

http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/14/taxes- ... icare.html
 
HerefordSire":1hszg6ko said:
grannysoo":1hszg6ko said:
Will they all go away? :banana:

interesting. What about this plan:

Eliminate all US Representative positions but keep the Senators. When the Senators formulate a new law, everyone in the country gets to vote for the law.

Sounds good but if it is left up to strictly popular vote the high population states / cities will dictate policy. I don't want California with it's high population having more votes, populace wise, determining say farming practices in Tennessee or Texas. Harry Reid would propose that we have to give massage and chiropractic care to all beef cattle on Wednesdays and all the left leaning, hippy, animal rights fanatics in California, New York, Chicago etc.. would vote it into law. All us folks in low population states will have to comply.............. I'm getting my bovine massage and chiropractic license now in preparation :lol:
 
HOSS":3g86rd75 said:
Sounds good but if it is left up to strictly popular vote the high population states / cities will dictate policy. I don't want California with it's high population having more votes, populace wise, determining say farming practices in Tennessee or Texas. Harry Reid would propose that we have to give massage and chiropractic care to all beef cattle on Wednesdays and all the left leaning, hippy, animal rights fanatics in California, New York, Chicago etc.. would vote it into law. All us folks in low population states will have to comply.............. I'm getting my bovine massage and chiropractic license now in preparation :lol:

Oh ye of little faith. Prince Harry would surely do the right thing....... :lol:
 

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