I. O. U.

At the top of my blog there is a ticker that perpetually updates the national debt and each individual's personal share of that debt. It has been spinning there since just after the election. When I first put it up there, "my" share of the national debt was $198,000. On July 23, as I was posting I noticed that it my share had risen to $202,000. Just two days later, my share is now $203,000. Just 6 months into the Obama administration and without Crap and Tax and Health Care Control---yes, just from the bailouts and Porkulus, my share of the national debt has risen $5000. At that rate of nearly $1000 a month, and looking at the way the administration is rushing to push through every massive spending bill, by the end of the first term (and we can only hope the last) in office, EACH of us could owe an additional $48,000 to the debt. According to census information for 2006, the median family income in the US was $58,407. This would mean that at the end of the first Obama term, the average family would have to work 5 years for each member of the family to pay the debt our country owes. Obama's economic plan is truly generational theft.

This rate of spending is truly unsustainable and those that support this should soon be UNELECTABLE......and the sooner Washington gets that message the better off we will be.

A New Economic Proposal from Common Sense America

Some of the things that circulate around on the internet contain the simplest and most common sense ideas...This is could be one of those....

A NEW ECONOMIC PROPOSAL FOR THE GOVERNMENT

When a company falls on difficult times, one of the things that seems to happen is they reduce their staff and workers. The remaining workers need to find ways to continue to do a good job or risk that their job would be eliminated as well. Wall Street, and the media, normally congratulate the CEO for making this type of "tough decision", and his Board of Directors gives him a big bonus!

Our government should not be immune from similar risks.. Therefore:
Reduce the House of Representatives from the current 435 members to 218, and the Senate from 100 to 50. The support staff for the lost congressional members would also be gone. Also, reduce the remaining support staff by 25%. This would be accomplished over 8 years...2 steps/2 elections, and of course this would require some redistricting.

Some yearly monetary gains would include:
$44,108,400 for elimination of base pay for legislators (267 members x 165,200)
$97,175,000 for elimination of their legislative staff (estimate $1.3 M in staff per each member of the House, and $3 M in staff per each member of the Senate) per year.
$240,294 for the 25% reduction in the remaining staff.
$7,500,000,000 reduction in pork barrel earmarks each year. (Those members whose jobs are gone.) Current estimates for total government pork barrel spending is at $15B per year.

The remaining legislators would need to work smarter and would need to improve efficiencies. We may also expect that smaller committees might lead to a more efficient resolution of issues as well. It might be even easier to keep track of what your representatives are doing. Congress has more tools available to do their jobs than it had back in 1911 when the current number of representatives was established. It might even be in their best interests to work together for the good of our country!

Congress did not hesitate to head home for their holiday, when the nation needed a real fix to the economic problems. Also, we have 3 senators (McCain, Clinton and Obama) that have not been doing their jobs for the past 18+ months (on the campaign trail) and still they all have been accepting full pay. This alone supports a reduction in senators and congress.

Summary of opportunity:
$44,108,400 reduction of Congress members.
$282,100,000 for elimination of the reduced house member staff.
$150,000,000 for elimination of the reduced senate staff.
$56,675,000 for 25% reduction of remaining house member staff.
$37,500,000 for 25% reduction of remaining senate staff.
$7,500,000,000 reduction in pork added to bills by the reduction of congress members.

$8,073,383,400 per year, estimated total savings.....just to start!

Big business makes these types of cuts all the time.

If Congress were required to serve 20,25 or 30 years (like all of us at our jobs) in order to collect retirement benefits, there is no telling how much we would save. Now they can get full retirement benefits after serving only ONE term.

If you are happy with how Congress spends our taxes, you just need to sit back and let the good times roll, HOWEVER, if you are NOT happy, then you know what to do......