Warren Buffett
While Warren Buffet did say something similar to this in his deficit reduction plan, someone has taken it and added MANY other elements that have little to do with reducing the deficit or what Warren Buffet “jokingly” said and he certainly did not request anyone to forward this email to 20 people. I’ll address each item line by line.
Warren Buffett, in a recent interview with CNBC, offers one of the best quotes about the debt ceiling: “I could end the deficit in 5 minutes,” he told CNBC. “You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election.
Warren Buffet is asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise. In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.*Congressional Reform Act of 2011*
1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.
Few people are aware that Congresspersons are not eligible for a pension until age 50 and only after 20 years of service. The only other option is completing 25 years of service (in which you are eligible at any age) or reach the age of 62 (but have to serve at least 5 years). The calculations are based upon an average of the highest 3 years of service salary (no different than any other federal or civil service worker).
2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
Another thing few people are aware of…All Congresspersons elected since 1984 (26 years ago), pay 1.3% of their salary to a pension and the same 6.2% in social security taxes just as every other American citizen.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
They do purchase their own retirement plan. As I said in the previous line, they pay the same 6.2% as every other citizen for social security plus an additional 1.3% toward the pension.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
They don’t vote themselves pay raises. The only voting required is to reject a pay raise that is tied to Cost of Living increases just as every other member of the military and federal workers, the raise is automatic. What I find comical about the email is the suggestion to tie the raise to the Consumer Price Index. The CPI is tied to inflation, so if inflation is uncontrolled and rises too rapidly, the raise would be greater (just stupid). The second element in the email suggested to tie the raise to a standard 3% raise, what’s silly about that is last year’s raise was 2.4%. Both of the suggestions in the email would account for a larger raise than what actually happened (Huh??).
5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
Ummm, which system? The government run system that the military participates in (government employees and government facilities), the system that the elderly and disabled participate in (single government payer), employer provided, or private pay (an extremely small percentage of Americans). Bottom line is the government is the largest single purchaser of health insurance, if you want Congress to have the same as the majority of Americans…guess what, they already do (Oooops!)
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12.
I won’t even address the last two; they are beyond any level or intellectual recognition.
The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work. If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S.) to receive the message. Maybe it is time.
THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!!!!! If you agree with the above, pass it on. If not, just delete. You are one of my 20. Please keep it going.
The point is, some of these emails are composed with little research or regard for accuracy. Typically they revolve around money, politics, religion or the military and designed to strike an emotion chord. So do yourself and the American voters a favor, DO NOT forward to 20 other people. Send it to me first.
