Day: December 31, 2012

Solution To The “Fiscal Cliff”: If No Results, NO Salary And NO Benefits For All Members Of Congress!

Ronald Leave a comment

It seems, as the author writes, that there will be no solution to the “Fiscal Cliff” crisis by the end of today, and that means massive tax increases for everyone; the end of unemployment compensation for two million people; and the possible doubling of milk and dairy prices. The likelihood of a recession returning, just as the economy was starting to improve, is a very real possibility!.

The answer SHOULD be that Congress must suffer too, if this is to happen! Their recklessness and irresponsibility is outrageous to the extreme, and no promise of improvement is likely anytime soon. They are undermining the respect for their institution, and turning the American people into a total disgust for their government’s inability to work for the public interest!

So there should be a public demand that ALL members of Congress forfeit their paychecks of about $175,000 per year per member, and ALL their medical benefits UNTIL they show responsibility and maturity to resolve this issue of the “Fiscal Cliff”! And there should be no back pay when the solution is finally reached!

Of course, in reality, no such situation can be forced, sadly, and of course, many members do not live on their salaries anyway, and are independently wealthy, but it is time through marches and demonstrations on Washington, DC, and across the country, that the people make it clear that they will not allow the anti government Tea Party Movement to “blackmail” the nation. It is time for Speaker John Boehner to assert his authority over the reckless members of his caucus, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to stop the maneuvering that prevents action in the Senate!

The Democrats are not totally innocent, either, by any means, but it is the GOP which has caused this crisis, since the Democrats and President Obama won the elections in November, and are entitled now to make policy for the nation, without anarchistic, terrorist like actions by the Tea Party Movement and its extreme right wing membership in Congress and across the country!

We can only hope for a miracle as we go into 2013!

Meanwhile, I wish all my readers a very Happy New Year, and hope for statesmanship and rationality in the New Year!

Tomorrow will, happily, be a day of celebration historically, and if one is not sure what this author is referring to, it will be answered tomorrow–a day in history that is one of the greatest moments in American history! See you in 2013!

The Need For Filibuster Reform In The US Senate

Ronald Leave a comment

The Senate is in a crisis situation, unable to accomplish much, due to the ridiculous filibuster issue, which has totally derailed action or voting on so many matters in the past few years.

The Republican minority has been able, just by threatening a filibuster, to block approval of judicial and executive nominations, and prevent serious discussion and voting on crucial matters. The filibuster, however, does not presently require that any Senator or Senators take the floor and talk for hours and hours, as Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina did in 1957, when he set a record of 25 hours for a personal filibuster, or having an 83 day group filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, before finally cloture was voted, and the filibuster was overcome.

So there have been proposals to modify the present requirement that 60 votes are needed to allow movement forward on any Senate issue.

Some want a simple 51 vote majority, similar to the 218 simple vote majority needed in the House of Representatives, while others want a 55 vote majority needed to move forward.

And others suggest something even less of a controversy: Bills for debate could not be filibustered, and filibusters could not be used to prevent formal negotiations with the House on Senate passed legislation, what is called the formation of a conference committee, which used to be common, and now is very rare.

Also, a Senator would have to be on the floor to mount a filibuster, or else, a vote on the bill would proceed. So the old filibuster rule, best represented by the Thurmond example, would require a commitment by one or a group of Senators to give the effort by personal sacrifices, speaking constantly on the floor of the Senate, to stop the bill from moving forward.

Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico have proposed these reasonable changes, and Joe Biden, as presiding officer, could move such changes forward, but there are seven Democrats, out of the 55 in the new Senate, who seem to be opposed.

These are Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer of California, Carl Levin of Michigan, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Max Baucus of Montana, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, and Mark Pryor of Arkansas. Notice that these Senators are all senior and older, longer serving members, with the shortest amount of service being Pryor, in the Senate since 2003.

This failure to understand how important reform is makes one watching this legislative mess feel very frustrated, and leaves one with the feeling that Senate reform will likely fail, and further undermine respect for our Congress and its ability to get things done!