The hypocrisy of a Government Shutdown! (How to fix it)

The hypocrisy of a Government Shutdown!

The United States Government Shutdown its non-essential operations on October 1, 2013.  Some 800,000 Federal employees are left hanging in limbo while the 535 members of Congress and the President, who are considered essential, fight like children on a playground. 

The irony of this situation is that Congress and the President will receive their paychecks regardless of the outcome.  In the past when the Government shuts down, Federal employees have gotten back pay for these shutdown days.  Ultimately, who looses are those who are not Federal employees.  Those who own and work in these communities with a large number of Federal building, tourism business, and consumer base businesses. 

I, myself have suffered as a non Federal employee.  I work for a company that makes deliveries throughout the Washington DC area.  I was told to stay at home today.  This is a day off without pay for me and regardless of the outcome of the government shutdown; I will not receive back pay for this day like those Federal worker will receive.

Now I am not one who identifies problems without offering solutions.  Here is my solution to this problem and all problems in this country;

• First, Congress and the President should have to run for election and re-election as a non-party affiliate the way politicians in Ocean City, MD do.  This will require citizens to look at each individual politician’s views and record instead of their party lines as qualification.  
• All bills and laws passed by Congress will automatically apply to members and their families.
• All bills and laws must be less than 50 pages long! (original bill for the ACA was 2,500 pages now its 20,000 pages of legislation) So that politicians can read the bill before voting on it.
• All members of Congress must vote Ya or Na on each bill.  The American people did not put you in office to sit on the sidelines or take a neutral position to advance your political career. 
• Any member that does not vote on a bill will be banned from voting on the next bill as punishment unless there was a medical reason for not voting.  If that same member misses any further votes s/he will be removed from Congress immediately. 
• Congress would not be allowed to approve spending beyond revenue.  The only exception to this would be in cases of emergencies like an outbreak of war or some drastic economic situation. 

If these requirements were in place before October 1, 2013 I believe that the government would not be shutdown.  Americans would be proud of their leaders instead of ashamed of them.  And businesses would be running smoothly. 

 

What do you Think?