Has the Congress-AIG Fiasco Convinced Enough Voters?
Posted: Saturday, March 21, 2009
by Jean Purcell
OpineBooks.com
Has the recent fiasco, still unfolding, had the effect of waking up more voters? Not only was the AIG bonus contract payout period due in the midst of one of the nation's biggest financial crises; it was also due when AIG Financial was about to go bust.
Not only was the AIG bonus extreme in the context of financial meltdown at the country, it would likely be paid out of taxpayer bailout money, funds awarded by a majority in both houses of Congress over many voters' objections.
Not only was the special legislation signed by the President, having been sent to him by the Congress; its authorship received a remarkable cover up fraught with lies and misdirections, fraud, and power plays in back rooms.
Not only was all of this happening under a big journalistic microscope that finally began to uncover at least some of the major events, but it was happening due to excesses of power in the nation's capitol halls, the halls of public service, supposedly.
If a majority in Congress can bind taxpayers to trillions of dollars of debt
If leadership in Congress can take campaign contributions from AIG and then pretend anger at AIG
If a majority in Congress continue to look for scapegoats to cover their individual and collective immorality and lack of ethical understanding
Then the only way to put a stop to this pattern and cycle of Congressional incompetence, arrogance, and/or special and vested interests is to stop allowing the same people to make lifelong careers of Congressional office. It is time for the voters to set the limits by refusing to send anyone back to Congress, Senate or House, who has already served 12 years.
It is time for voters to do what they can do. A term limit was imposed upon the office of the U. S. presidency after President Roosevelt's elections to four terms. It is time for voters to do what Congress will not do: voluntarily, at voting stations, to impose term limits on Congress persons.
Forget about the years of so-called wisdom, expertise, experience, and knowledge built by 25-50 years in the same job with multiple perks and self-voted raises and other privileges. Forget about the disappointment people will face if they are not voted back in and have to sit out a while to run again in a few years. Forget about emotions and favoritism.
Term limits, imposed by us, the voters, on them, the elected public servants in Congress, could be very, very good for this country.
Eight consecutive years maximum is the term limit on U. S. presidents and vice-presidents. Twelve consecutive years maximum, four more than any president may have, seems enormously fair for people in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Twelve years gives each Senator the opportunity to run for and serve two consecutive six-year terms. Twelve years gives each Representative the opportunity to run for and serve six consecutive two-year terms.
I don't know about you, but I am not going to vote again for anyone who has already served 12 consecutive years in Congress unless their opponent is on the scale of Joseph Stalin and other despots around the world. On balance, the next person, if inept, will only get one term anyway--six years or two years, depending on Senate or House service.
If you know of any Congress as inept or corrupt as the present one, overall, I'd like to know about it. Yes, there are honorable people in Congress. A few. I'd hate to see them go. But it would be worth the price if with their term limits came the same limits for the others who seem to have forgotten integrity, responsibility, and accountability, along with being grown up enough to admit their actions behind closed doors of Congressional committees and bargaining hours.
The privilege of serving in public life is to be taken as a big and heavy responsibility, an opportunity to try big and heavy things that could lighten the load of the American people while helping the nation to be worthy of admiration and respect.
I wonder how many people who vote have been convinced that at least this 12-consecutive-years term limit idea is worth trying for two or more election rounds. That could be a good start. How many have gotten the message due to how the majority in Congress have behaved in voting for massive, hurting bailouts, whose funds still cannot be accounted for, and in playing games of truth or dare with the American people, daring to lie to us and hide the facts of their own behavior?
Has the Congress-AIG fiasco convinced you, dear voter?
This Article has been viewed 181 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.