Term Limits Again

If the United States is to change course from
disaster, if that has not already happened,
term limits for U.S. Representatives and Senators
is a must. The events of the present recession
demonstrates the need for term limits.

Special interests like banks, insurance companies,
real estate groups, investment houses, business
associations, pharmaceuticals, and other powerful
interest groups fill the coffers of Democratic and
Republican politicians. Incumbancy is their right!

Recently, there was a post wich described the defeat
of amendment to prevent banks from hastily foreclosing
which was aided to defeat by many Democratic Senators.
Many of the Democratic and Republican senators and
representatives are in the hip pocket of banks and
financial institutions. Sen. Dodd demonstrated this
with his votes on aiding the banks and the insurance
companies and his aid to AIG with the bailouts and
his approval of the outlandish bonus payments. Today,
it is seen with Sen. Baucus of Montana who chairs the
Finance Committee's mark up of the health reform bill.
His pockets are full of pharmaceutical and insurance
companies money gifts to his re-elections coffers, so he
has prevented any representatives or discussion of the
single payer health insurance method to be before his
committee. He says single payer doesn't work, yet millions
of citizens are very happy with medicare and his own
golden benefit health insurance program is a single payer by
the Federal Government. Lets remember, medicare is in
future difficulty because the Trust Fund has been "robbed"
by Democrats and Republicans to pay for other programs.

Our Congress is now concerned with preserving their own
personal powerful interests, be that Marcy Kaptur or John
Boehner. They look upon their service as their "job."
This is a "job" that comes with single payer insurance and
retirement benefits for life. This is in addition to what
they earn for social security. This needs to end asap.

Therefore, career politicians need to be eliminated through
the term limit process. There should be one term for
Senators and three two year terms for Representatives. While
they serve a modest health insurance should be provided, but
no supplemental retirement benefits. Their income would count
for later social security payments. An increase in salary may
be warranted for living expenses in Washington, D.C. and
appropriate fact finding travel and constituent meets back in
their respective states.

If the economic, social, and foreign serious problems are to be
solved to prevent the demise of the U.S., career politicians have
proved that they are not capable to deal effectively with these
problems. There must be rotation in office. The Founding Fathers
believed in and used that term "rotation in office. They provided
an advanced 18th century remedy for a career political life, periodic
elections. For the House it was election every two years and for
the Senate it was an indirect election by State legislatures. However,
today rates of re-election are 99%; that is intolerable. Given
the political system as it is today, change cannot occur without
term limits.