Congress’s Quagmire is our Fault

WE CITIZENS MUST RECLAIM OUR COUNTRY

FIASCO

The latest debt ceiling crisis is still unresolved as I write these words. However, I decided to slip in an extra post to discuss lessons made more obvious by this fiasco. The next regular post will be published this Thursday, November 13.

This “debt ceiling” crisis should never have happened. A well-run Congress would not have had the debt ceiling machete to attack a problem that should never have occurred. Samples of long-obvious irresponsible fiscal management in Congress are:

· America being in a dangerous federal fiscal condition, obvious for many past years and worse for the future. See prior posts for the Congress is Vital series on the federal fiscal matter. · Deeply-in-debt federal programs that are “mandatory” (on spending autopilot). · Congress’s not performing fundamental financial processes like budgeting and passing appropriations bills on time. · Using band aid legislation to patch problems rather than solving the root causes.

THE MONKEY IS ON OUR BACK

The quagmire in Congress is not new. We have been increasingly aware of it since the beginning of this century. Expecting Congress to fix it voluntarily is a pipe dream! The citizens in this country are sovereign. The people established the constitution, assigning powers and responsibilities to various entities including Congress. We elect members of Congress. We must insist on permanent changes to have a problem-preventing Congress!

“We have met the enemy and he is us.” POGO

COMPETITION – LET’S PRETEND

Let’s pretend a future that won’t work your grey cells too hard. Pretend that for some years Congress’s House of Representatives has had members whose elections resulted from open, non-partisan primaries that allow candidates from many parties – not just two. Also, voting methods make the results proportional to the public. On top of that, unfair gerrymandering is no longer lawful. Similar electoral methods as appropriate are used for the Senate. Real and fair competition has produced new ideas and viewpoints, has required collaboration and compromise, and has virtually eliminated rule by one party.

We now have four parties large enough to make a difference. After elections, the House and Senate elect their chamber’s leaders, and it is never certain from which parties these will come. Committee chairpersons also are from more than one party, usually leaders who are the most knowledgeable and experienced person on the committee. Both houses also use ranked choice voting for all these selections to ensure broad support.

It was most gratifying to note some of the results from these past years using the electoral methods described above.

· U.S federal public debt as a percentage of GDP is heading downward. · Our medical system is fair, above average in results, and no more expensive than in many other countries. · America is again respected by friend and foe alike. · The Senate Foreign Relations committee, like the one led by Senator William Fulbright from 1959-1974, provides valuable advice and counsel to the administration in foreign affairs. · Members of Congress spend more of their time in Washington.

Tom Mast