Twenty cents on the dollar.
That’s what I send to the federal government every paycheck. Don’t get me wrong—I am a huge fan of the interstate highway system and when I watched the newest Top Gun movie I was impressed as all get out with the formidable aircraft carriers I had bought.
My problem with my weekly tithe is that so much of it gets wasted on partisan shenanigans. The party in charge of Congress this cycle is going to investigate the party that isn’t. They’re going to get to the bottom of whatever heinous thing was done by the other side--which is very similar to the heinous thing their side did recently, but this is somehow different in ways they won’t quite explain.
But whatever it is, it will be expensive.
In the meantime, the national debt grows beyond all comprehension. My estimate that it will take three hundred years to pay it off is laid out in this episode of I’m Not Allowed to Watch the News: https://play.acast.com/s/im-not-allowed-to-watch-the-news/07-the-national-debt. I did the math. I know what you’re thinking.
In the meantime, Americans are putting off medical checkups and lifesaving treatment because it costs too much. My three-day stay in the hospital was nearly twenty thousand dollars. (Which I ranted about here - https://play.acast.com/s/im-not-allowed-to-watch-the-news/03-sick-of-it. There’s even MORE math).
In the meantime, our enemies delight in our disunity, taking back by inches and feet and miles all the things we’ve fought and died for over the last century.
In the meantime, the richest folks in America can get together and buy the laws they want, because the lawmakers are for sale.
In the meantime, political parties rake in billions of dollars per year, which they use to elect representatives who will pass laws like tax cuts to pay it back to their donors at a massive return on their investment.
In the meantime, twenty cents on the dollar.
So what do we do about it?
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It only makes sense that we should fight fire with fire. Let’s raise a billion dollars and start our own SuperPAC. This legal entity will have only one purpose—to blanket the airwaves with commercials starring America’s most beloved actors and sports figures and whatever statesmen remain to ask Americans to do two things:
Pressure Congress to pass a Constitutional Amendment limiting service in Congress to twelve years.
Pressure Congress to pass a Constitutional Amendment limiting federal campaign contributions to the individual, capped by an annual formula that’s indexed to a real number encoded into law, like the federal minimum wage. Let’s say that no one can contribute more than 10 percent of the annual pay of someone making minimum wage at a full-time job. (Right now, that’s about $1500 per year). You can give it to a candidate, spread it out amon
g multiple candidates, or you can give it to your party of choice, but once you hit $1500, you’re done for the year.
Twelve years in Congress. I once suggested on an episode of The Open Highway Podcast that when it comes to terms in Congress, your best ones are your first and your last. Your first because you’re chock full of idealism and the goodwill of the voters, and your last because you’re untouchable—you can’t be bought because you’re not running for anything, and this is your last chance to make a difference.
Limiting Representatives to three terms (I would increase the term of office from two years to four) and Senators to two six-year terms would give us a real shot at quality. If you only get two terms, they are your first an
d your last. See this link for my lengthy explanation - https://theopenhighway.podbean.com/e/81-joe-biden-classified-documents-and-a-plan-to-fix-congress-with-guest-stacey-roberts/
If individuals are the only way to get money for your party or your campaigns, all of a sudden people will need to be persuaded that your policies are best for the country. You would have to explain how you’re going to fix healthcare instead of yelling “Obamacare bad!” into a microphone. You would have to explain why trillions of dollars on climate change are worth spending.
Because no American oligarch is going to haul out his checkbook and finance your entire campaign.
These amendments would be game-changers. And we all might just feel better about that twenty cents of every dollar we send to Washington.
I’m going to start a GoFundMe. Stay tuned.
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