I knew when I wrote in my last column that I was not voting for a single Republican in the coming midterm election that I was lighting a fire. I had no idea it would become a five alarm conflagration.
The funny part is that I used to have online arguments with my liberal friends. Now they are high-fiving me. My conservative friends are the ones who have become apoplectic because, God forbid, I think for myself. It’s amusing to me as I sit back and read the comments to see them making the same broad-brush characterizations of the Democrats that they complain about when the Democrats do it to them. I suppose that’s the nature of politics now, though, that you can’t see your own reflection in the mirror.
What they fail to realize is that my metamorphosis has come from my lived experience rather than the opinion of any talking head. I listen, surprisingly, to mostly conservative commentators. And then I do the work to research the issues. It’s the same thing I’ve done with my study of the Bible which has led me to a stronger faith because I know not only what I believe but why I believe it.
Some people in my circle believe this has been an easy transition for me- liking flipping a switch. It has been anything but easy. This has been an agonizing journey of watching the party that I have supported my entire life walk away from everything I hold dear for the benefit of propping up an egocentric despot who is set on getting what he wants and damn the consequences to the little people like me.
But he’s not the only one who has failed us. Every single member of Congress, cabinet member, and advisor who has not challenged him is equally culpable. I can’t do anything about the cabinet and the advisors, but I can deal with Congress in the voting booth.
I cited a conversation with a friend in my last column and how she felt there was not a single person in government with any integrity. She is so disheartened she didn’t know if she could ever vote again. I told her then that I had to believe there were still better angels out there.
Yes, the choices I am making this time do have D’s after their name. We need a change. Plus anyone that I believe will kiss Trump’s backside, I’m not walking away, I’m running. With that said, I’m not becoming a socialist. The choices I’m able to make, thankfully, are more in the middle so I’m not sacrificing any more than the majority rule.
With that said, Congress has an uphill battle to restore my faith in them. Only 22% of Americans, as a whole, approve of them right now, with a 68% disapproval. The Republicans have pushed through Trump’s agenda l, not challenging him in any way because they are afraid he will target them. The Democrats are equally as bad in propping up their own pet projects with little regard for the people they serve.
It’s not just about the fact that no one on either side has the ability to stop arguing and come to consensus long enough to get something done, it’s about how public service has now become a wealth-making endeavor. And it needs to stop.
Why is it that someone can enter Congress with a firm footing in the middle class and come out as a millionaire? Well, let’s look at some of the benefits to their “public service”.
Just this year, the House finally passed HR 7008 which has banned individual stock trades by members of Congress, but it is still pending in the Senate. Given that Congress passes laws that have the ability to influence the markets with foreknowledge for those members in Congress, allowing them to benefit financially in this way is ethically wrong. This is one thing they’ve done that’s a positive, if it makes it to the end.
But it’s not just the trading that’s been a problem. I will admit that I bought into the lifetime pension fallacy but when I looked it up that is not the case. With that said, their pension is very generous. It does require five years of service to be fully vested and pays out based on those years of service. With that said, at 62, they can collect their pension. With 20 years of service, they can receive their pension at 50 and with 25 years, they can “retire” at any age. For a house member with a salary of $174,000, their annual pension would be $59,500 per year or 35%.
Let’s compare this to the average federal employee. They can retire at 62 with five years of service, 60 with 20 years, and to retire between 55-57 depending on your birth year, you have to serve 30 years. Average salary is $110,000 which means their pension would be $22,000 or 20%.
Seems a little bit inequitable to me.
There are other benefits to “service” as well. They receive the gold standard of health coverage. Yes, they pay a portion of it the same as us, but I doubt they have to jump through the hoops we do to get medicines, tests, and procedures approved by the insurance company.
Then there is the issue of the time of service. Public service in our government was never intended to be a lifetime profession. When supporters of George Washington wanted to do away with the term limits in the Constitution and have him stay in office, he refused to do so because we had walked away from a monarchy. Congress has become its own little fiefdom with representatives being elected and re-elected until they lose sight of the ideals that led them to run in the first place.
Term limits keep an appropriate perspective for those who serve. If you have a deadline for getting things accomplished, you work harder to make them happen. You’re also more willing to negotiate when you see that there is a finish line.
Finally, last time I checked, I don’t get to vote for my own pay raise. Each year, my performance is assessed by those in authority over me. We get cost of living raises but the percentages of those raises are determined by that assessment of our merit. What’s more, the tug-of-war games they play that result in government shutdowns mean that federal employees including every member of our military are not getting paid while Congress is. It should never be the case where the top of the pyramid receives a paycheck while the base continues to do the work but goes penniless.
Any Congress member who works on these points and shows me some ethics, regardless of party, would have my support.
But bringing it back around to my original point. . .
All of this transformation that has occurred within me comes down to one thing- accountability. I want leaders with integrity who will put the needs of their constituents above their own egocentric machinations.
We start with the presidency and go down the ballot, making every single one of them answer for their actions. It is painful but it has to be done. It is only through our votes that we can say this type of leader is what we deserve and what we demand.
For me, in this election, I am still willing to fight for this ideal to find those better angels.
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