Dear Friends:
I received this from a friend today, and checked it out on Snopes.com, as I usually do.
I found that it really isn't “Buffet's Rule,” although I wish it were and that he were leading the charge to reform Congress.
However, there is so much truth in this document that I am encouraging you to get the ideas moving, light fires under the people who can move it forward and let us see if we can make some changes.
I wrote a poem last year about my take on Congress…
Here it is for your enjoyment:
What’s in a Name?
By Janet Hoult
www.thefrontpageonline.com 11/08/2012
All rights reserved
Have you ever watched baboons cavorting at a zoo?
They can be quite obnoxious and idiotic, too
They’re viciously aggressive and not so very smart
I’ve heard people wonder if the species has a heart.
But there is another group with an equal claim to fame
With some very similar traits and the same collective name.
Baboons are not a monkey tribe. Would you care to take a guess?
They share their collective name with a human group – Congress.
I’ve been told that salamanders are called a congress, too
Perhaps that’s appropriate for all the things they do.
They’re known to be quite slippery and hard to hold onto
With mucus on their bodies that doesn’t act like glue
They might even remind you of politicians you know
If you should catch their tails or legs, they’ll gladly let them go
For they will grow another to replace it in a day
So although you may catch them, they slither right away…
Subject: The Buffet Rule
Warren Buffet is asking each person to forward this to a minimum of 20 people.
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.
Salary of retired U.S. Presidents . . . . . . . . . . . $180,000 for life
Salary of House/Senate members . . . . . . . . $174,000 for life. This is stupid.
Salary of Speaker of the House . . . . . . . . . . $223,500 for life. This is really stupid .
Salary of Majority/Minority Leaders . . . . . . . . $193,400 for life. Ditto last line above.
Average Salary of a teacher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $40,065.
Average Salary of a deployed soldier . . . . . . . $38,000.
I think we found where the cuts should be made.
Warren Buffet, in a recent interview with CNBC, offers one of the best quotes about the debt ceiling:
“I could end the deficit in five minutes,” he said. “You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than three percent of the 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 three months and eight days to be ratified. Why? Simple. The people demanded it. That was in 1971, before computers, emails and cell phones.
“Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven took one year or less to become the law of the land – all because of public pressure.”
This idea should be passed around.
Congressional Reform Act of 2013
1. No tenure / No pension.
A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when he or she is out of office.
2. Congress (past, present and 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 no longer will vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower, the CPI or three percent.
5. Congress loses their current healthcare system and participates in the same healthcare 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 12/1/13. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women.
Congress made these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators. Ours should serve their term(s), go home and back to work.
This is how you fix Congress.
Ms. Hoult may be contacted at HOULTight@aol.com
