The Congressional Reform Act of 2011 - It IS Time

someone emailed this to me and it made so much sense, i'm blogging it. please repost/forward/reblog/twitter and send, send, send. it's time.

apparently, congress does whatever it wants. or do they? the jury is still out on that one. the vietnam war came to a screeching halt because people marched and demanded it. but that was, what -- 40 years ago? we aren't a generation that takes to the streets in defiance. we take to our laptops and smart phones. the problem with this reform act is that ultimately, congress has to ratify it. isn't that like asking a bad kid to punish themselves?

with six figure salaries and self-regulated pay raises, solid health insurance, a pension and excellent retirement plan, and (yes believe it or not) not working for months on end, being a congressman (or woman) is like riding a gravy train with bisquit wheels. that is, compared to how the average american is doing.

congress should draft everyone at the age of 18. get personal. hit home, hard. that would make for a politically astute and very much involved populace, with a quickness.

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The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only three months and eight days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971 -- before computers, before e-mail, before 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.

I'm asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those people to do likewise.

In three days, most people in the United States 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 the Social 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 United States to receive this message.  Maybe it is time.