Warren Buffett, in a recent interview with CNBC, offers one of the
best quotes about the debt ceiling:
"I could end the deficit in 5 minutes," he told CNBC. "You just
pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election".
The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds)
took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple!
The people demanded it. That was in 1971 - before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc.
Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took one (1) year
or less to become the law of the land - all because of public pressure.
Warren Buffet is asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.
In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.
_*Congressional Reform Act of 2011*_
1. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no
pay when they're out of office.
2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise.
Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women.
Congressmen/women made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.
If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will
only take three days for most people (in the U.S.) to receive
the message. Don't you think it's time?
THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!
It makes perfect sense. Buffet continues to offer brilliant information for free.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the deficit, here was Paul Ryan hard at work sharing two bottles of wine that cost $350 a bottle. Hopefully those two supposed “economists” will be identified soon.
ReplyDeletehttp://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/07/rep-paul-ryans-pricey-pinot-noir.php?ref=fpa
Of course, Buffett is right. Politicians will act responsibly only if the system forces them to do so. Congress should have incentive schemes the same way businesses do. In Singapore, politicians get a bonus based on GDP growth. It's no coincidence that Singapore has had such prosperity and job creation. Right now, US politicians get their "extra spending money" by paying off special interests with taxpayer money. The result is easy to predict -- enormous deficits, and bloated, pork-filled budget. Fix the rules, and the system will fix itself.
ReplyDeleteLook around a bit and you'll find that a large proportion of people with just continue making one bad decision after another. Politicians are in that category. Easy to make short range, self-centered decisions, but difficult to tie a lot of decisions together to provide a national plan.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Buffet. Only when politicians are held personally responsible for the outcomes of their decisions will we have the control of them that seems to be required. Notice I said 'outcomes', not intent. Dahni
Buffett didn't get there by being stupid or listening to stupid people.
ReplyDeleteI would vote for that idea and believe it would work.
Trouble is, he only has one vote, same as the rest of us. Tommy- Austin
Buffet is a genius in so many ways. He lives in the same normal-sized house for decades ( I think since the 40's) and gives his kids & grandkids unlimited funds for eduation, money for charity, and nothing else. I'd listen to him about almost anything. SAN FRAN
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting!!! Wow!!, it does make perfect sense, why not penalize the persons responsible for laws, taxes, economy etc if it is failing.... Makes perfect sense...Thanks for Posting.. Deana NYC
ReplyDeleteMaybe I am missing something here, being from Australia. Why doesn't the USA cut some of the military prgs.
ReplyDeleteFor example the Virginia Class Subs, (8 have been delivered and 30 are to be made).....used to deliver nuclear missiles at a cost of $1.8 billion. Who is the enemy of the USA that would require a nuclear weapon being used ???
Judd Wild
THIS IS THE BEST IDEA FOR ELIMINATING OUR B.S. FINANCIAL CRISIS YET! NO WONDER THIS GUY IS A BILLIONAIRE. Even tho he is a liberal, he nailed it. We, the electorate, have the option of implementing this plan come November...
ReplyDeleteHow would the law be passed, but by the very body of lawmakers who’s position is threatened ? Do you honestly expect congress to pass a bill that would enact a law such as this?
ReplyDelete“You just pass a law that says ….”: Presuppositions and hyperbole abound — this man lives in a fantasy world of self worship. Does he even understand how U.S. civics works?
It’s only rhetoric you Moron. Buffet knows very well that such a law could never be passed in a representative democracy. He’s simply making the point that the deficit couldn’t exist without the complicity of that policy making body. The reality is that elected representatives each carry their own (or their constituents’, or more likely their sponsors’) agenda into Congress, and the deficit is not usually their main priority. Being a shared responsibility, it’s easiest to see it as someone else’s problem rather than be the first one to sacrifice their own agenda). The problem lies in representative democracy itself in that the very objections listed above demonstrate how it makes certain benign actions impossible, and the emergence of malign emergent situations inevitable. Sean T
ReplyDeleteI believe people who are thinking of his answers to literally have never told a story by grandpa or “crazy” uncle chuck. He is making valid points, so stop taking it like its a blunt poke to your brain and think about it.
ReplyDeleteGo pick up an English book and look up a “sardonic” sense of humor.
WE ARE RESPONSIBLE for voting our lawmakers out of office if they fail to perform their civic duty to serve us and the best interests of this country. The fact there are senators & congressmen who have not served us well, and have been in office for multiple terms is OUR FAULT as irresponsible voters. WE have a voice. As the largest group, middle-class America has far more power than we realize. We simply choose not to exercise it because we have convinced ourselves we are helpless victims, or don’t bother to pay attention. This country could not operate without US. We need to exercise our power by voting with sense instead of voting our emotions. We need to do what we know is right instead of buying into the emotional insanity of the media & politicians. Hank W.
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