Forum Post: TERM LIMITS FOR CONGRESS
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 3, 2011, 10:48 p.m. EST by onemore
(0)
from Rochester, VT
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
I have been watching this incipient movement with great expectations for the future of our nation, but I think that it is of the most importance that some ideas are clear. The main issue according to several blogs is the accountability of wall street and our politicians for the problems that they created in the almost collapse of the western economies in 2008. The problem is that we also share part of the blame. Let me explain, In 2001 after the worst attack to American soil, our President Bush Jr. told us to go shopping, and we embarked in two wars on a credit card. In 2008 our credit limit run out and we are experiencing the fall out of that irresponsibility. In 2008 we elected a new President with the hope that things were going to change, but the very strong ties that exist between our government and Wall Street are not easy to break. Our mistake was not getting involved enough into politics and voting for the same people that are now in congress. I remember reading somewhere that the price that a country pays for not getting involved into politics, is being ruled by mediocre people.
If this new movement is to succeed, the primary goal has to be clear. The problem that we are having is the same problem that many countries are having: We have elected people into our governments that are professionals at what they do. They have made a career in politics , and they are experts in manipulation of the media and the polls. They have a team of experts telling them what to say and how to behave. Their only goal is to stay in power as long as they can. They do not know how to do any other job. In the past our politicians were lawyers, doctors, soldiers, etc. That is no longer the case.
We as citizens have no power over private companies that lobby our politicians in Washington and our local governments. We all know that Wall Street has influenced the politics of our country for decades, just do a search of the high ranking officials that have served in all administrations ( Republicans and Democrats ) for many years. They all come from Wall Street, specially Goldman-Sachs.
Our power resides in VOTING, so lets exercise that power and change things around. The first goal should be to implement term limits in the Senate and in the House. This will break the ties between Washington and Corporate America. We have to demand that in the 2012 elections this issue is put on the voting ballot for the whole country. If we have term limits for the President, we should have term limits for our Congress.
After this goal is accomplish, then the movement should focus into educating our country in how to vote, not based into dividing issues like our politicians are doing right now, but based in the merit and knowledge of each individual that we vote for. This requires each one of us to do our homework and research when it comes to choosing our leaders.
Corporate Free Speech There needs to be better corporate representation. Money is speech. Every individual, even individual stockholders, "ownership," has a right to free speech. Free speech means no one can force or prevent an individual's speech. Ownership has the right to direct the corporation's speech and political contributions. Majority control of contributions may violate an individual's free speech. Corporate management can speech for the corporation, but ownership needs to authorize that speech. No speech or money spent on political contributions may be made without ownership authorization and such contributions must be taken from the individual's dividends. No dividends means there is no allowance for contributions. Corporate management must poll the ownership to determine the amount and placement of all individual stockholder directed contributions. The assignment of all corporate contributions must be made public so that ownership can verify the correct placement of their contributions. Management can not make contributions on the behalf of nonresponsive ownership and thus can only make contributions for which they have been directly authorized.
Money is speech. Corporations are people, because people get the money. Free speech means people are not forced to pay for someone else's speech. Corporations may not force to pay or deny dividends, to a person who does not approve of money spent on speech. Corporations may only spend money on speech that is taken, by approval, from the people who get the money. Every person who gets money, from the corporation, must approve the money spent on speech, in order to protect the right to free speech. Since the money spent on speech is identifiable with a person then that money is subject to caps associated with that person and must be reported. Also, tax consequences flow, to each person, for tax exempt contributions. If the corporation feels that the cost of polling and reporting the money spent on speech is prohibitive, then the corporation is prohibited from spending on speech. Corporations spend money on product ads and any political placement in a product ad must have unanimous consent of ownership.