Jul 28 2009
IS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT NEEDED?
Washington DC will effectively become inactive starting August 1st as Congress takes its annual summer break. Will it make a difference? Not really. In fact if we were to close down our federal government it would make little difference overall. At first we would have a lot of constituents (that’s a word they love in DC) upset because they would no longer be receiving welfare, food stamp and AFDC vouchers. My goodness, how will they afford their weaves, nails, body piercings and tattoos?
These are program flops already in place and have little to do with who is in Washington now. More on this later. What is in DC at this point is a bunch of people elected by citizens in fifty states to carry out the workings of our nation. Now in order to do this we must have intelligent people who will put forth the effort. I don’t see a lot of this happening now. Bills are introduced at the eleventh hour thus prohibiting members the needed time to read and evaluate the bills. The President sets his agenda; Republicans set theirs and of course Democrats set theirs. When it becomes clear none of them will come out on top they begin speaking of something called bipartisanship.
All of this is done without concern for what is needed and/or wanted by their constituents. If you contact your Senator and/or Congressman (person) you will receive a response along these lines:
“Thank you for contacting the office of (whomever). We are not able to respond to each inquiry individually. However you may be assured we are working hard hard to carry out the wishes of our constituents.”
Well that says it all doesn’t it. Next you start receiving regular emails or snail mail reports telling what they are doing for you. Never once do they tell you what they haven’t done. Never once do they tell you anything concrete. There will be lots of finger pointing, lots of “we are seeking a cooperative, nonpartisan effort on this” and all sorts of generalized BS.
Here’s a thought. Why not leave these people home following the recess? They do not need to return to Washington. Leave them in their home states and require they stay there. No jaunts for research, etc. Stay home and be held responsible, at home, to your constituents. One day per week they must sit in a straight back chair and respond to questions presented to them by their constituents. Their response must state specific steps they are or will take to address issues. No comments such as: We are seeking, looking into, working for a bipartisan resolution, etc. may be used. Each month the major news sources in the state would release a report card on what progress, if any, has been made.
Not a perfect system, none is, but I feel better than what we now have and certainly less expensive. The President should remain in Washington and address issues relevant to our country. He should work for the people not attempt to take control of them. He is not entitled to the many costly vacations he takes. I worked for twenty years in Food Service in Long Term Care Nursing facilities. I sacrificed many vacations that I had earned because I had the responsibility of 100 - 300 patients nutritional needs that had to be addressed each day of the year. He wanted the job, he should face the responsibilities of it.
We the people must become more involved, more vocal and more reactive to what is happening in our governments; local, state and nationally. Our pockets are quickly being emptied and more taxes are being imposed upon us. It’s time we speak up and take action. Instead of heading out to the local eatery to get a cholesterol fix while we drive and talk on our cell phones or text, we should be fixing our meals at home and contacting our government officials to let them know how we feel.
I stated above more later about programs already in place. These flops will eventually choke us unless we address them and curtail them. There is entirely too much waste and fraud involved in these programs as well as Medicare and Medicaid. All government handout programs are subject to corruption.
By the way, a constituent is defined as “One who authorizes another to act as an agent.” Isn’t it time we act on behalf of ourselves rather than turning the process over to someone we only know through the ballot box? That is unless, of course, you are a Harvard Professor named Gates.
If we do not take action, soon it will be too late.
