Threat of no re-election could force better decisions
If you happened to catch the tongue-in-cheek Huffington Post article on the remarkably poor popularity of Congress, you’d know that nowadays the band Nickelback has a higher approval rating than our bicameral legislature. Thankfully, Congress did edge out the Kardashians and North Korea, though I’m not sure if that can really be considered a victory. It’s no secret that Congress has been unsuccessful lately, most notably in their struggle to finalize a new deal regarding fiscal policy and avoiding the hottest political catchphrase of recent times: the fiscal cliff.
As we now know, a deal had been made, though most will tell you the pseudosuccessful last-ditch effort in Congress, when the House of Representatives finally passed a Senate proposal, only delayed the looming budget battles an additional few months. The doldrums that are the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate will continue to wallow until at least March 1, when they’ll be forced to come to an agreement regarding entitlement reform, tax reform and conclusive spending cuts.
The central concern regarding Congress’ poor decision-making is its negative affect on the economy, brought about by its support of broad tax increases and significant spending cuts. Economists warn that this combination would rend a $600 billion gash in the economy and send us spiraling back into a recession. At this point, the forecast doesn’t look good. If you think the deal found at the New Year was a sign of positive change regarding Congress’ behavior, don’t. Polarized leaders continue to butt heads, and ideology and pride continue to be the decisive factors driving our historically maligned government machine. Quite frankly, the country is being led at a dangerously personal level, and it’s an embarrassment. The worst is still yet to come — entitlement and tax reform will presumably churn more evidence to justify the convictions of the 77 percent of people who feel Congress is hurting the country.
If it hasn’t already, the bad may get a worse, considering we’re entering midterm election season. You can bet your life savings that the common denominator of all the candidate’s platforms, Republican or Democrat, will be a dedication to break the unproductive partisan patterns of present-day Congress. Don’t buy it. Positive systematic change won’t be found until the re-election terms of Congressional office are reformed.
A certain business magnate by the name of Warren Buffett has quite the proposal, made in passing in a 2011 CNBC interview. “I could end the deficit in five minutes,” he said. “You just pass a law that says that anytime there’s a deficit of more than 3 percent of [gross domestic product], all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election,”
Buffet’s got a point. Instead of Congress bribing the public with the public’s money, the public can hold Congress hostage with its pride.