Kid Rock '18

[The Conservative]

Celebrity status isn't something better or worse than career politician.

GCF and TC would disagree.
They think career politician > all.

If you haven't devoted your life to fund raising, self-promotion, and making powerful friends then clearly you're an inferior candidate and unfit to govern.

Making powerful friends is one thing, being able to relate to those you are meant to represent is something entirely different.

Politicians say they can relate to those who struggle, who can't put food on the table, etc... the majority of the politicians today can't say they know what that means because since they were in school they were trying to get into politics, which means not dealing with normal people.

When the average salary for a congress person is $174K a year, they forget what it means to live paycheck to paycheck... What it means eating one meal a day and saying you are full when your family is eating because you don't have enough money to feed three people. Where rent is more than 1/2 of your income... where you choose in filling your gas tank all the way, or only filling it 1/2 way so you can feed your family...

Where you can get fired for not getting a job done on time, and not need to wait till the contract ends for that to happen. Where an Employee at Will doesn't exist.

Yeah, if we gave Congress back to normal people, things like the status quo would be turned on its head.

[Fife]

Term limitation is rather obvious, to this crowd (I hope).

In addition, why do we pay representatives a salary at all? I think actual, reasonable, out-of-pocket expenses are probably OK, but why a salary?

Seriously, who can offer an argument justifying a representative's salary?

[TheReal_ND]

Honestly their salary isn't really that big. They get rich somehow or another but I doubt it's off the salary. Our salaries for Texas state legislatures are extremely modest. Even for 1860 standards. It varies state to state though (Californians rake it in,) and I'm assuming you mean at the federal level and not state level.

[DBTrek]

Somehow we were swindled into believing that being a representative was a "full time" job, and therefore these crooks demand full-time pay plus benefits, right?
Now *is* being a representative a full-time job? Well, they aren't voting 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. They aren't writing new legislation 8 hours a day, 5 days a week (thank God). So Fife may be on to something here. What exactly are they doing in their capacity as a representative that makes their position a full-time job?

FUNDRAISING, SON.

That's what they're doing.
Raising money for themselves while we pay them to do it.
WHOOOO-WEEEE!
WE'VE BEEN HAD, BOYS!

[TheReal_ND]

It's a valid point. I just feel like the title needs a salary. Somehow it makes them seem a little more dignified and responsible to the constituents. Then again, they are hookers and if you don't pay a hooker they can't be a hooker...

[pineapplemike]

Yeah $174k doesn't seem astronomical to me, I'm sure it could be cut somehow but I don't think paying them $0 is particularly wise either.

Fundraising should probably be the target to focus on, I would think. That's how these hookers are getting rich

[Fife]

Start with the low-hanging fruit. Make it a volunteer position. No salary; 2 terms for reps, 1 term for senators. If a poor person wants to run for office, make it law that their employment cannot be impacted negatively by their term of public service, and pay all their actual expenses during their term of service, including their dependents' expenses. We can even give their dependents a stipend for school tuition and expenses during and after the term of service. We can be generous about it; attract all comers to the public sphere.

After that is done, deal with crooks and con-men looking for a free ride.

What's the cost in that move? Seriously, what is the cost?

[TheReal_ND]

I don't no want to make people feel like any hair brained leftist can just "volunteer" to make our lives better through socialism though.

[Fife]

I don't no want to make people feel like any hair brained leftist can just "volunteer" to make our lives better through socialism though.

Don't vote for Pedro.

[TheReal_ND]

Pedro already voted for me