As distasteful as it sounds, maybe it's time for us to go to Congress with this fantasy:
We all know that you MUST continue to sell tax advantages to the wealthy and to corporations so that your re-election campaigns can be funded. YOU know that and WE know that. We also know that collectively (and personally) you have NO interest in modifying the tax code to make it more equitable. Your livelihood DEPENDS on your ability to continue rewarding the wealthy and the corporate tax payer in return for their generous campaign contributions. We really do know that. Believe it or not, we don't blame you for wanting their money so you can remain in office. It's a sweet gig. We don't want to take that away from you any more than we would want it taken from us if we were in your elective shoes.
Here's the deal .... for those of us who have souls, we’ve managed to search them and have found our country in quite a financial jam. Not only that, we hear from virtually every corner that our governing bodies of the House and Senate are now dysfunctional. We even hear it directly from you ….. from both parties when you appear on the TV and radio talk shows. So it must be true.
We’ve come to a critical juncture where, for the survival of the country, we need to take a look at how Congress works. We need term limits. We completely understand that we can NOT count on you to support that. If we were in your shoes, we wouldn't support it either. What do you say we talk about a plan that might work for all of us?
First, let’s concede that you don't want to be a "former” member of Congress. To mitigate that distressing thought, we’d like to "grandfather" you into your position for as long as you can continue to be elected by your constituents. Yes, NO CHANGE for you! (Just imagine .... passing a law from which you would be exempt without having to defend yourself from the normal public outrage! Ahhh, the good ol' days but I digress.) However, we’d like your successor to be subject to term limits of no greater than x number of terms. That's not all. Here's more good news for you .... we also don't want to touch your lucrative pension. We will also grandfather you to permit collection of your pension plan for life. The same will apply to any other benefits currently accrued by you as an elected official!
In exchange for your personal safety net, your term limited successor, however, will not be eligible for a pension since their time in office will be restricted. We will grant them other benefits (life insurance, health insurance, 401k, etc.) while they serve but those benefits will cease one year after they leave office via term limits or through their defeat in an election prior to their term limit. Think about it, only "the next guy or girl" is impacted. Not you! After all, your successor is probably only one of your pesky constituents at the moment anyway, so their reduced benefit package will do nothing to affect your lifestyle or well-being. How sweet is that?
To sweeten the pot even further, and perhaps to offer one last nostalgic bribe for old time’s sake, we might even be willing to permit the use of VA hospitals for life (for you and future term limited members) in gratitude for your service. I won't lie. That's kind of a trick to finally create a vested interest for members of Congress to make sure that the VA quickly becomes a first class organization because it would directly benefit members of Congress rather than just that troubling special interest group known as the US military, who so naively and selflessly think of someone other than themselves while serving their country. I know .... you kid the vets.
So, what do you think? Can we talk, or are you currently too busy posing for pictures at the southern border where you are refining your ability to act indignantly and do nothing?
I've said it before, on this board and others, and I'll say it again. The closest that this country will EVER come to tax reform is the election cycle rhetoric spoken by politicians of BOTH parties who wink and smile at each other as the empty words flow from their disingenuous mouths. They have NO intention of disrupting their primary source of campaign funding. The political interest level in modifying the tax code is perhaps one of the ONLY areas upon which both parties operate from the same page. Their unwritten marching orders ..... talk about it all you want, point blaming fingers at your political opposition while you talk .... but LEAVE IT ALONE!
Pat |
