by Chas Bonner
Conventional wisdom says never to discuss religion or politics in polite company. Excuse me if I am becoming impolite.
Most of the news today circles around Congress and its inability to extend the debt ceiling, to come to any agreement on budget essentials, to compromise with the president, or even to compromise with other members of Congress INCLUDING members of their own party. Freshmen Congressmen elected with Tea Party help need to be recognized as Tea Party intransigents; Democrats seem unable to yield on entitlement spending, and Congressional leadership cannot lead because there are no followers. Virtually any economist of stature has stated that our budgetary woes cannot be resolved without a decrease in spending and an increase in revenues. But “I, Congressman X will yield on nothing.” Many of those same economists have reminded us that even if the country does not face recession without a budget agreement, they have illustrated how so many costs, including interest, will rise after default.
Is it any wonder why the President, any president, has an approval rating ranging between 40 and 60% whereas Congress usually has an approval rating between 10 and 20%? Most of those polls indicate voters like their own Congressmen, but detest Congress.
If we would enact term limits, suggesting 2 very long terms (10-12 years) followed by a prohibition of ever returning to a legislative body, we might get statesmen in Congress instead of professional politicians. We would have representatives who are working for the best outcome of the country rather than the outcome of their next re-election.
We would be most interested in your comments on this topic. Hopefully, you are as angry as I am, and even more hopefully, maybe this will foster some change in our despicable political system. And now the disclaimer: “The above thoughts represent the attitude of the writer, not of Scythe & Spade.”
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