What Have You Done For Me Lately?

I think we can all agree that Congress is woefully broken.  Especially the 112th Congress with its Tea Party heavy faction.  This is the true definition of the "Do Nothing Congress." As of November 27, 2012, the 112th Congress has passed a total of 200 pieces of legislation.  That's a lot less than the original "Do Nothing Congress" as named by Harry Truman.  That was the 80th Congress who passed over 900 pieces of legislation.  

The fun part--and by fun, I mean pathetic and sad, is the breakdown of those paltry 200 pieces of legislation by the 112th.  Of the 200 bills passed into law that the House and Senate both agreed on included the following:

• 30 bills renamed Post Offices
• 11 bills renamed Federal Courthouses, buildings and property
• 3 reappointed regents to the Smithsonian Institute
• 3 bestowed Congressional gold medals on deserving citizens
• 4 authorized commemorative coins to be created

Eighty pieces of legislation that passed were amendments or extensions of current laws.  That means that the 112th Congress passed 69 pieces of unique, meaningful legislation.  You must take the word "meaningful" with a grain of salt, as those 69 pieces of legislation include "important" issues such as the Billfish Conservancy Act (no offense to Marlin lovers), erecting a statue of Frederick Douglas in the Library of Congress, and a bill that allows Astronauts to keep their NASA souvenirs from space missions.  They also include an act to bring the America's Cup Race to the US, a bill to erect a monument on federal land honoring Fort Pulaski, and the Box Elder Utah Land Conveyance.  In fact--several pieces of legislation passed were land conveyances.  

I certainly don't mean to slight Billfish lovers, I believe in conservation programs. I think Statues and monuments to honor important historical figures and designate historical places are important.  However, we're in a lot of trouble if this is all our Congress can come together on--and it makes me very, very angry.  I'm angry that this was the best they could do for us.  I'm angry that they were unable to reach consensus on so few pieces of legislation while the country crumbles at their feet.  They seem to look at the devastation around them and still the best they can say is, "I disagree."

This is the Congress that was so absorbed by their political agenda of making President Obama a one term President that they threatened so convincingly to refuse to raise the debt ceiling, the nation's credit rating was lowered.  Good job, Congress.  The Republicans in this Congress held hostage the lives of America's unemployed (about 8% of us at the time), by refusing to extend their unemployment benefits unless the super rich got their tax cuts extended.  These people are supposed to be working for all of us--not just 2% of the population.  I'm sick of my government being hi-jacked and held hostage over benefits for the 2% who are doing just fine while the rest of us are struggling to just get by.  It isn't supposed to be like this.  

I've been doing some thinking now that sequestration cuts are looming over the nation's head.  There is talk that Congress will let the country go over the "fiscal cliff" because it saves face for Republicans who signed Grover Norquist's tax pledge.  Most economists agree that if the cuts go into effect, we will enter another recession.  If sequestration cuts happen, almost everyone in the country will be negatively affected--except for one tiny fraction--the members of Congress.  And they're going to take us there and throw us over the edge for political reasons.  It seems we have a serious problem.

The problem is that Congress is punishing the wrong people when they can't (or won't) get the job done.  The sequestration slashes domestic spending indiscriminately.  That punishes a lot of Americans who depend on federal funding for programs, services, public safety, education...the list goes on and on.  Congress is punishing us for their inability and unwillingness to do their jobs.  They put party above country and we suffer for it.  I propose that we enact some legislation of our own to fix that and punish the real culprits.  Congress deserves to feel some of the pain.  We need to create an independent office of Congressional oversight made up or ordinary citizens who have the power to impose sanctions on Congress when they fail to do the people's business in a timely fashion or refuse to act for political gain. I also propose the following measures:

1. If Congress cannot pass a budget, we enact the rule my mother used for cleaning my room:  Don't come out until it's done.  I propose that members of Congress are only allowed to leave the floor of the House and Senate to use the bathroom and they have 15 minutes for that.  No going home for the night and reconvening the next day.  Sorry--stay there until you get the people's business done.

2.  In situations where people on Social Security, our Troops, federal employees, etc. are threatened with having their paychecks or unemployment benefits cut off, I propose that Congress is included.  In fact, I propose they be at the top of that list.  If citizens are threatened with losing their incomes, then Congress should face that devastating threat first.  We don't get money--neither do they.  

3.  I propose that Congress participate in a training program that educates them on what it's like to live in this country for real Americans.  Most members of Congress have no concept of what it's like to work for minimum wage, or to live on food stamps and try to get by.  They should know what this is like.  I propose that from the time they are elected, until the time they are sworn in, they have to live on minimum wage earnings and food stamps.  It will help with their budget making skills.  No one on Earth can budget better than someone on a minimum wage income.  

Implementing real, personal consequences for their actions might snap Congress into action and force them to do the job they were elected and are paid quite well to do. These people are expected to lead our Nation and I've never seen a group of individuals less qualified to do so than the 112th Congress.  

Sky Diving Off the Fiscal Cliff

It's just this simple--it's us against them.  There are two sets of people in this world--CEO's,  and the people that work for them.  The CEO's are very, very wealthy people and so are their shareholders.  They want to keep all of their money.  They don't want to invest in the country that gave them the opportunity to build their very large corporation.  They expect us to pay for it all, and they've created a seriously large lobbying group to make sure that it happens.

Honeywell CEO Dave Cote

A group of super wealthy CEO's have formed a group that they call the "CEO Fiscal Leadership Council" lead by Honeywell CEO Dave Cote and Goldman Sach's CEO Lloyd Blankfein.  The two of them have gone on a media blitz to tell the country that the best way to pay down the debt is to cut so-called "entitlement" programs.  Have I mentioned that Dave Cote's Honeywell Corporation didn't pay a dime in taxes from 2008-2010?  Nope, not a nickle in taxes, but they got a $34 million rebate from the taxpayers.  Talk about welfare, geez, are you kidding me?  Honeywell enjoyed $5 billion in profits and didn't pay the United States a dime, we paid them.  

Then there's Goldman Sachs, the mega-bank, who received a $10 billion bail out from the federal government (that means you and I--the tax-payers).  Yep, they paid us back (thanks, fellas)!  Goldman Sachs reported 8.4 billion dollars in revenue in the third quarter alone, exceeding Wall Street expectations.  G.S.'s leader, Blankfein thinks that the government needs to "do something, undoubtedly, to lower people's expectations of what they're going to get.  The entitlements, and what people think they're going to get, because you're not going to get it."  

The good news is that Cote of Honeywell realizes that a zero corporate tax rate is not going to fly with the American people, but believes that corporate tax rates should be negligible, "if the US really wants to create jobs."  

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein

It should be mentioned that Blankfein took home a tidy 16.1 million dollars in salary in 2011, and was expected to receive a raise and earn even more this year.  Cote took home a little more than $55 million in compensation for 2011.  He paid around $2.5 million in taxes thanks to the Bush era tax cuts.  

So, after the elections, we learned that we need to be active participants in the political process. Our input to our representative makes a difference.  If we shout loudly enough, they will listen.  We must remind them whom they are working for.  There are a lot more worker bees than there are CEO's.  Of course they're not worried about programs like Social Security and Medicare or Medicaid.  They don't need them. 

 They're fantastically wealthy--but we are not, and we need those programs.  They're not entitlements--they're life-line programs. Programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and Food Stamps are a means of survival for a lot of hard working people.  They are important.  We're cutting funding for important things we desperately need as a society like education, and we're still handing out multi-million dollar checks to corporations with billion dollar profit margins?  What the hell is wrong with this picture?  Our government must do better for us.  They represent US.  Yeah, it's time to end welfare--CORPORATE WELFARE!!

How fair is it that we workers pay higher tax rates than CEO's with their multi-million dollar pay checks?  How fair is it that we have to write a tax check for the privilege of living in this country, but a corporation like Honeywell pays nothing?  The fact that they got a multi-million dollar rebate is just another slap in the face to the good hard working people who pay taxes and make this country work.  WE are the job creators.  WE are the engine of this economy.  It's high time we expected a little bit more from the people who benefit from the fruit of OUR labor. 

We have to win this one.  We are at war with giant corporations that believe they don't need to pay a dime to this country and profit off of the benefits of doing business here, making billions off of  government contracts.  They don't want to pay their fair share for anything and instead are trying to make it the sole responsibility of the most vulnerable among us.  

Pick up your phone, send a fax or write an e-mail to your representatives in Congress and tell them you've had enough.  Tell them you believe in shared sacrifice and that the richest among us along with corporations that have enjoyed loop holes in the tax code allowing them to pay zero taxes has gone on long enough. Encourage them to raise taxes on the richest among us. Tell them to end corporate welfare--tell them you've got your eye on them and you're not going to sit idly by and get shafted again.  If they won't work for us, we'll elect someone who will.

Our representatives aren't going to stand up for us if we don't demand they do so.  These CEO's want to throw us off the fiscal cliff while they fly over it in a jet made by Boeing and paid for with tax payer funds.  It's up to us to find our own parachute.  They have theirs, and they're golden.  Enough is enough.  We cannot allow Congress to reduce the deficit on the backs of the poor and retirees and the elderly.  We can no longer sit quietly while our quality of life is diminished and watch the ultra wealthy reap all the benefits the US has to offer.  We have to remain active and engaged in what's going on in our country.  You can find your representatives and contact them by visiting Contacting the Congress.  We have so much to lose and everything to gain by forcing the wealthiest among us and billion dollar corporations to contribute and pay their fair share.  

The "Other" Norquist Pledge

I gotta tell you that I'm pretty damned sick of idiots trying to manipulate my elected officials.  There's a battle going on in Washington, DC and in case you haven't met this master manipulator, it's high time you did, because if you've got a Republican representing you in Congress, there are excellent odds that he's manipulating (or trying to manipulate) your Congressperson or Senator.  His name is Grover Norquist and he's a lobbyist and the founder and president of a group called Americans for Tax Reform.  He's also a very wealthy man.

Grover has taken it upon himself to bully members of Congress into signing the following pledge, and most Republicans have acquiesced to his demands.

Taxpayer Protection Pledge: I,_____, pledge to the taxpayers of the (____district of the) state of______ and to the American people that I will: ONE, oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal tax rate for individuals and business; and TWO, oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.

So what I'd like to know is; who the hell elected Grover Norquist, and what right does he have to ask our representatives to sign any kind of pledge?  If this is the way Washington works, then I would like to submit my own pledge to members of Congress for them to sign.

Stop the Idiocy Pledge:  I,_____, pledge to the constituents of the (____district of the) state of _____ and to the American people that I will, ONE, slap Grover Norquist up side his head each and every time I see him in or around the District of Columbia or the halls of the Capitol; and TWO, tell Grover Norquist to mind his own damn business because I represent the interests of my constituency and not his own personal agenda.

I think this pledge would go far in keeping greedy, rich white guys from seeking to further their own personal financial goals by attempting to manipulate members of Congress.  Call it my own personal lobbying style.  Perhaps, some of our more physically fit leaders might deliver the added bonus of knocking some sense into Norquist into the bargain.  Like Norquist himself, I am an optimist and it never hurts to try.  

Grover Norquist is nothing more than another wealthy man trying to protect his own financial interests because it's not you or I or any average "get up and go to work at the factory or the grocery store" kind of people that benefit from this pledge, it's the financial elite that reap the benefits.  Sadly, he's done a pretty damned good job of protecting his own interests so far--but it seems his luck may be running out.  Norquist's pledge leaves absolutely no room for Republicans to compromise and that's getting pretty uncomfortable for those who have made this deal with the devil.  With the "fiscal cliff" that we've been hearing so much about looming large, and after a dismal failure of an election for their party, the Republicans are more than willing to enter negotiations with the spirit of compromise at the fore.  The only thing at this point holding them back is their pithy promise to Grover.

It's time the Republicans ask themselves, "What's going to happen if we break our pledge to Grover?"  The answer is simple; absolutely nothing, other than perhaps, earning the respect of the people in their districts and states that actually do the electing.  If Republicans learned nothing else from the last election, it should be that they're not going to always be successful at buying their way into office with Super PAC and dark money.  So, if they kick Grover to the curb and focus on the good of the country like they should, the sky isn't going to fall.  Nothing is going to happen except progress.  What a concept.  The good news is that more Republicans than ever before are turning their backs on Grover and his ill advised pledge. 

 In order to reduce the deficit, it will take a balanced approach to solve the problems.  There are a myriad of ways to cut waste in existing programs without reducing much needed services.  My personal favorite spending cut?  Ending corporate welfare!!  Exxon-Mobil doesn't need government subsidies--they're doing pretty damned good all by themselves. Companies like General Electric and other Fortune 500 companies can start paying taxes. Right now, a lot of really big corporations end up with zero dollar tax bills and some even get refunds while enjoying record profits.  Closing the loopholes that keep these corporations from paying taxes will go a long way toward reducing the deficit.  

Another productive approach is tackling the monster that is defense spending.  We spend an insane amount of money on our national defense.  Although we need a strong military, we're outspending the rest of the world on defense.  There are plenty avenues to explore when cutting expenses without people losing their jobs and while continuing to maintain our nation's safety.  Republicans view defense as a sacred cow.  Sorry, boys--cow is what's for dinner regarding this conversation.  And so is Grover's meaningless pledge.  Stack those pledges right there by the defense cow and please pass the gravy. 

And people who earn over $250,000 a year can afford for their tax rate to increase by a measly 4%.  That's all the President is proposing, 4 cents on the dollar.  It isn't a lot to ask of them, but it will help.  The fact is; these people are so consumed with greed that they've lost all sense of humanity and decency--not to mention patriotism.  We live in a society that has allowed them to amass so much money they couldn't spend it in their lifetimes, and they're crying about a 4% increase to live in the country that gave them so much opportunity.  

I find it hard to pity the Mitt Romneys of the world.  I promise you that they're not worried about your financial woes.  If you think they are, just take a look at the fact that the average CEO makes 380 times more money than his hourly workers.  Look at the fact that Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke makes as much money on his lunch hour than his cashiers make all year.  They don't worry about much--except paying their workers and their fair share of taxes.  Mike Duke doesn't worry about paying the light bill, or the car payment or what would happen if he couldn't work for a week or two.  They're not like us.

I don't begrudge anyone the right to make as much money as they can.  This is a capitalistic society after all.  But there's a price to enjoy the ride, and they're not paying their fair share.  If we, as fellow owners of the country don't demand they pay the price of admission, we're all going down with the ship. They can afford the increase, even Grover.  They're not going to miss a meal over 4%.  At one point in this nation's history, the top marginal tax rate was 90%.  Perhaps that will provide a little perspective for them the next time it comes up in the conversation.

 We can reduce the federal deficit.  It can be done with a balanced approach. All it takes is some common sense, good will and the ability to compromise.  And our representatives shouldn't be worrying about some nonsense promise they made to a man with an over inflated sense of self-importance.  At the end of the day, Grover Norquist is a nobody.  It's high time people stopped worrying about what he thinks.  It doesn't matter.

We can reduce the national debt without breaking the backs of our most vulnerable citizens.  The middle class can't afford to pay more in taxes, and heaven knows the poor have it hard enough already.  The rich can stay rich while paying their fair share.  Our Congress has been held hostage by one man for long enough.  Pick up your phone and call your elected officials and tell them to scrap Grover's pledge.  Flood their in-boxes with e-mails that say you've had enough of Norquist's crap.  Give the Republicans incentive to turn their back on Grover.  They'll listen to you.  You just have to remind them who they're working for.  Grover didn't put them in office, and he won't return them to office either...but you might if they do the right thing for once.  And while you're at it...ask them to sign my pledge!