No Budget, No Pay Passes the Senate

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   tammybarnetteposted 11 years ago

   No Labels grassroots organization:
   
   "We just made history. No Budget, No Pay just passed in the Senate and now awaits the president's signature.
   
   This is huge. The calls, emails and passion from the grassroots supporters just shattered Washington gridlock and introduced real accountability in a way that seemed impossible just a few days ago. We’ve been calling for this for more than a year with Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Jim Cooper, and now we made it happen -- we've shown our democracy can work.
   
   This is a turning point for our nation. Our leaders worked together for progress and prosperity, and America is stronger for it."
   
   
   Great News Hubbers

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      Petra Vlahposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      This is fabulous and we should do it for other issues that are concerning our life and politicians are ignoring

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         tammybarnetteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         yes we should Petra, there are others underway through this particular grassroots organization, and many more...we just need to keep signing petitions that represent our values and we will get there:)

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   Old Poolmanposted 11 years ago

   I love it and it was way overdue.
   Sadly, many of them don't even need their paycheck.  Between what they are able to steal through kickbacks and brother-in-law contracts, plus the money they accept from lobbyists, their paycheck is just fun money for them.
   It would have even been better if we could have attached a time limit to the pay freeze.
   Something like, "If you don't have the job done by a certain date you are FIRED."
   Your right, this may be one of the biggest things we have accomplished in many years, and if nothing else it will get their attention.

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      tammybarnetteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I am happy and gleeful to see some bipartisanship, we the people, the grassroots of this country CAN get things done. And I agree, would have been nice to attach a clause that could actually relieve them of their chair, but baby steps my friend, we ARE going to take this country back!

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      wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Question:  You're right in that most politicians won't notice the lack of pay, but I'm sure some will.  Will those few now be held hostage, blackmailed if you will, to pass a budget they don't like in order to put food on their own table?

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         Cody Hodge5posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Hey if it works in the corporate world....it better be good enough

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         tammybarnetteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         "Congress has only passed a budget and all spending bills necessary to fund the government four times in the past 60 years. Congress has the lowest public approval rating in history. It all comes down to a simple fact: Congress is not doing its job – and the most basic job Congress has is deciding how much money the government takes in and how much it spends."
         
         What's good for the goose is good for the gander...We are quickly driving this country into a ditch and straight into hyperinflation inwhich we will all suffer, or at least the 99% will suffer...I believe this is a reality bite for those living in a bubble, before we all have trouble putting food on our table.

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   Deltachordposted 11 years ago

   I don't think there are any in Congress that can't put food on the table. They have been held accountable, and it is about time. Hip, hip, hoorah!

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      Old Poolmanposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Anyone willing to spend a couple million of their own money to get elected should wave a big red flag in our faces.  Has anyone ever heard of anyone in Congress leaving office broke?  Every one of them leaves far more wealthy than they were when they first sat down in the big cushy chair.
      
      They can make millions just from insider trading because they are exempt from these laws.  You or I would go to prison, like Martha Stewart found out, but they make millions and are not about to change this law.
      
      Between insider trading, bribes (Campaign Contributions), and lobbyists, Congressmen are guaranteed to come out of office as multimillionairs, with their salary and benefits paid for the rest of their lives.
      
      Is this sweet or what?

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         tammybarnetteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Old Poolman, I am so glad you mentiones pensions, I was studying a pie chart of government spending recently, about 19% is being spent on these pensions! Almost as much as healthcare spending and far more than welfare spending...I believe they should be cut off after 5 or 10 yrs, and I think that is being kind, but I can't see us getting that through...

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            Old Poolmanposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Tammy - There lies the big problem with placing term limits on these professional crooks we call our elected representatives.  At the end of each election cycle, we would be adding new names to the list of those drawing full salary and benefits.  In a few years, we would have a huge monthly expense for the taxpayers to pay.
            As we can see, many of those in office now are already retired, but just keep getting reelected for yet another term.  They really have nothing to fear if they are not reelected when they draw a full salary and benefits for the remainder of their lives.  What the lose by retiring is the opportunity to steal even more of our money.

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               tammybarnetteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Exactly, this is not the way government was designed to work...I think it's unconscionable and unconstitutional...We the people fight endlessly over spending cuts yet if we simply withdrew this one drain on our structure we could easily regain a path to a balanced budget with no need for rising debt-ceilings.

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                  Old Poolmanposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  If I recall, Congressional seats were never intended to be a lifetime carreer.  I believe it was people with the necessary skills who volunteered to serve a term in Congress to help "we the people."  Then they returned to their normal lives.
                  
                  How we ever let it get from that to what it is today is beyond me.

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                     tammybarnetteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     That's the way I read it as well, it's an abomination...too much money and too much power will always lead to corruption...We are top heavy, and physics dictates, we will crumble...Unless...

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                     Deltachordposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     That's exactly how it began and it should go back to that way of serving the people.

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                        Old Poolmanposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                        My problem is not knowing how we could ever strip them of all this power and return to the way it was supposed to be.  I assume it would take a vote of Congress, and they sure as heck are not going to vote themselves out of a job.
                        
                        Any ideas that are legal?

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                           tammybarnetteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                           If we can prove it's unconstitutional, we should have ground to stand on...

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                              JaxsonRaineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                              You have to prove it's unconstitutional to a circuit judge, then an appeal judge, then another judge, and probably another judge, before it would get to the Supreme Court, which generally votes along 'party' lines, so it's moot anyway. When you have people interpreting the Constitution, the majority viewpoint of the interpreters trumps every time. If the judges change and give a different ruling, did the Constitution change?

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                                 Cody Hodge5posted 11 years agoin reply to this

                                 In a way, yes.

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