The Battle for Control of Congress 2014

The battle for control of Congress in the 2014 election will be one of the fiercest battles in years. Many issues are on the table at this point in our history including but not limited to the economy, housing, debt ceiling, healthcare and jobs to name a few. Both political parties have their ideas on what should be done and in many instances they continue to plague Congress to resolve them.

The control of Congress in the next election can and will have far reaching impact now and in our future. It is understood the issues above are not easy to resolve but at some point resolving them must take place. The approval rating of Congress is not something for which they should be proud and they should take steps to understand why their ratings are so low. It is obvious to us as citizens and should be obvious to our elected officials in Washington. Each political party has a stake in improving the approval rating and neither can blame the other for it.

A divided Congress can be a good thing or a bad one and the voters in the next election must make a decision on whether they want one party in control of Congress and if so which one. If they want a divided Congress as we have now they must decide how to accomplish it. Each voter has a stake in the outcome of the next election and it is important for all eligible voters to vote in the coming election. The decisions they make will impact their future and they must decide what kind of future they want for themselves and our country. When elections are held we never get 100% participation and there may be logical reasons for this but voting is something all eligible voters and I stress eligible voters must take seriously. Those who choose not to vote have no right to complain about the outcome as they did not voice their opinion. Voting is one way we communicate to individuals running for office how we feel about the positions they have on the issues.

Congress has made bad decisions in the past according to the public reaction and they are not restricted to any specific political party. We as individuals make mistakes and Congress is no different. Congress must learn from their mistakes and take actions to correct them. Many times actions which have failed in the past are tried again and again while actions which have succeeded are ignored. Congress must learn from successes of the past regardless of which political party originated the action. At this point the public is not happy with many of the laws passed in the last several years and if those who will be up for election in 2014 want to keep their jobs they need to take action. Mistakes in some cases as it appears occurred voting with party policy rather than their individual position. Elected official must remember they are there to serve the public not their political party.

There good individuals who care more about our country and their constituents than their political party. Examples of this can be seen when someone bucks party policy and votes differently than party leaders want them to vote. This is a trend which it is hoped will increase in the future and the decisions we make in the next election will impact whether this increase will take place.

I mentioned in the beginning several topics which are important to the future of our country and there may be others that voters feel are important to them personally. Individuals running for office must understand and grasp what issues upon which voters will choose for whom they will vote. Failure to accomplish this can or will impact whether they will be elected or re-elected. The economy and jobs issues are constantly in the news as well it should for turning our economy around will impact whether businesses will hire new workers, lay off workers or reduce the hours of the ones they have.

The upcoming healthcare implementation requirements which are coming on board in 2014 is presently impact how businesses are changing the way they operate given the projected costs to them under the new legislation. It is a topic which our elected officials and those seeking to replace them must grasp. Healthcare if a vital part of our economy and while the issues in the news in recent days are pointing to a growing dissatisfaction with the requirements coming to light and their impact there are positive changes. The prospect of repealing or defunding the healthcare law is remote at best given the present political environment but changes need to be made to negate the negative impact some of the requirements are having on businesses and jobs. Many businesses are reducing their employee hours to less than 30 per week to avoid falling under the requirement to provide health insurance. In this example businesses may hire more individuals but they will be part time not full time. It may make the jobs increase look good but it is the type of jobs which are being created and may or may not add additional revenue to the government.

The last subject important to our country is our debt for which the ceiling may need to be increased. Granted there have been instances where the government needed to spend more than it received but it is time that all elected officials and those running to replace them resolve the issue of spending more than what it receives. I feel this may be one of the critical issues which will be the tipping point from voters when they choose who they will support. The government needs to reduce expenses and increase revenue. Making the tough decisions to accomplish this is not about political parties in power but coming together to tackle the causes to resolve them.

It is hoped that the individuals who are elected to serve in the new Congress after the 2014 election will tackle the issues identified in this article and others which are important to all citizens. It is up to the voters to convey their opinion before the election and after on what they feel needs to be done to turn our country around. A strong economy will have a positive impact on many of the issues discussed and feeding money from the government is not the answer. Creating confidence in the economy through known requirements from year to year will help achieve this need. The existence of the unknown from year to year creates uncertainty and businesses cannot operate or plan from one year to another without knowing what their expenses (e.g. taxes) and government requirements will be. Government laws and regulations are constantly being generated which affects our economy. These laws and regulations need to instill positive impact not negative impact and they need to not overstep their bounds with respect to constitutional authority. This is not to imply all laws and regulations violate federal government responsibilities in the Constitution but some or at least some parts have been struck down by the Supreme Court. Constitutionality of laws and regulations need to be examined and provide reference to the Constitution from which the authorities exist before generating laws and regulations. Voters have opinions about actions which they feel exceed government authority as identified in the Constitution and they will voice it in their votes.