Buffet's proposal for Congress

[Pharaoh]

I just got this email. What are the implications and the downside of Buffets Proposal?








From: Eileen Hammer Housfeld
Sent: 2011-10-13 12:12 PM
Subject: Buffet's proposal for Congress



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 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 collects a salary while in office and receives no
pay when they are 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 are void effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen 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. Maybe it is time.

THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS

If you agree with the above, pass it on. If not, just delete. You are one of my 20+.. Please keep it going.

[Aerows]

1. I couldn't agree more

especially the part about losing these extravagant pensions and paying for their OWN cadillac health care plans if they want one. No one else in the US gets these kind of benefits, and frankly, considering how worthless some of these people are on Capitol Hill, they barely deserve even a minimum wage salary. The biggest thing many of them have accomplished is pulling the wool over the eyes of enough people to get elected.

[flamin lib]

2. I suspect this is a hoax and has nothing to do with Buffet--may be wrong

not enough time to reach SCOPES yet.

[mod mom]

7. I checked snopes and couldn't find anything.

[Matariki]

3. I agree with all but the idea of re-election dependent on the deficit

Pressure to keep the deficit below 3% of GDP could result in Congress slashing A LOT of social programs.

Everything else is brilliant.

[Pharaoh]

8. That's what I thought

Social programs should be off the table.

revenue should focus on corporations, banks the rich and the military.

[mod mom]

4. Congress loses their current health care system & participates in the same health care system as

the American people. LOVE IT! Maybe that would entice them to do something about our broken system!

Love them all!

[hfojvt]

9. they already are part of the same health care system as the rest of us

that system says that some people have good jobs and good insurance paid for by their employers and others don't. They probably have the same health care as every other American does with a $170,000 a year job.

[loyalsister]

5. Part of the reason we had such disfunction is a largely novice congress

Getting rid of people who know what they are doing via term limits or limits based on the deficit would be terrible. I fully disagree about the career portion. People who write laws have to learn about unintended consequences and contextual influences. It takes a lot of time and if it is done right, new members are mentored by people who have considerable experience.

I am not sure that making elected office into a less attractive job would help. I can see some points, but really if we want quality people who know what they are doing it can't be such a thankless job that no one wants to do it.

[Javaman]

6. And, I know this one is not a popular one...

term limits.

this is my reasoning. While the president is limited to two terms so should congress people.

Why? because so many institutionalized congress people hold more power than any president could ever hope to compete with.

a president, regardless of party is already put in to a deficit of his own powers by having to play fiddle to a congress person who has been in for a dozen terms to get anything done.

Also look at it this way, an ever evolving congress with new blood would keep a democracy strong and healthy with new ideas and new people.

also, just think, with limited terms, the power of k street would be instantly stunted.

[unblock]

10. peanuts and off-target. the real problem is legalized bribery

the reason congresscritters are trying to destroy social security is not because they have a different retirement program.

those considerations are dwarfed by the amounts involved in campaign contributions, book royalties, speaking fees, and post-congressional career lobbying and board of director compensation they get, nevermind the cushy gigs their spouses and kids and so on get.

THAT's the problem.

find a way to publicly finance congressional campaigns, beef up corruption laws and actually enforce them.

THAT's the way solution.



i like buffett's politics a lot, but this one misses the mark. if this were to pass, right-wingers in congress would still want to destroy social security because it would still pay for them to do so. a few speeches after congress more than makes up for whatever they lose from any retirement plan.

[musanim]

11. Yes, it is a hoax.

This is just the latest variant of an email that's been circulating for a while.
Here's a page about it (before Buffett's name was added to it):
http://www.factcheck.org/2011/03/congressional-reform-act/

[cbayer]

12. snopes - mostly false

http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/28thamendment.asp