Warren Buffett and the Mythical 'Congressional Reform Act'

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The attack on the Congress and Senate is an attempt to undermine in the public's eye their authority and distort their function in our republic. Those types of e-mails do nothing but feed the executive branch of Government more dictatorial power while subverting the legislative branch making them more and more impotent through executive legislation like the Patriot Act and National Defense Authorization Act, which are designed to circumvent the legislative process that supposed guard the people against usurpation. The legislative process was designed to guard our country's constitution ie no one person could make a decision without the consent of the deliberative body that is supposed to represent us, the constituents. The real problem with our legislative branches is that they allow party animosities, jealousies,prejudices and personal interests to contaminate and dictate what is accomplished rather than focusing on our true national interests;(Glass Steagal, productive jobs through large scale projects,which would pay for themselves and generate more physical wealth if we weren't paying interest to The Federal Reserve on our own money, National Banking ie public credit, impeaching Obama for his continuous blatant violations of the Constitution and support of the destruction of our nation and violating UN treaties, and focus on getting some real presidential candidates).

Stuart of WA 3:46PM August 31, 2012

I agree and disagree with the above break down of this email. True it was not Warren Buffet who has asked that this be forwarded.
As for the no pay after office, that is pay from service while serving as a Congressman. Upon exit, they should take up life where they left off and we the tax payer shouldn't have to supplement their income. That is what was proposed. However, that extends to all public servants serving in Washington DC (The House, The Senate, and Congress).
The power to vote is the way we make change within the Government. To effectively change the way our government is working we must be diligent and use common sense. If you vote Democratic, vote out the seated incumbent and vote for a different incumbent if available. The same if you're a Republican. The message is the same, we want change and you WILL listen to us.
A little more research on this email by the author of the above article would have yielded a much better discussion.

David Morton of MO 6:55PM August 26, 2012

Since I am a Federal retiree and we recently had representatives from our Federal Congress Members in Washington D.C., I can honestly say that the congressional men and women have the same retirement as we ordinary Federal workers do. They do have the same benefits as we do with health coverage, life insurance, retirement plans, and TSP accounts. Nothing has been proposed to change that. There isn't any Congressional Reform Act of 2012. Right now we are in a 2 year hiring freeze. We doi not know if and when we will get a cost of living raise nor do they know when they will receive a raise. Look on the Federal Government website for the congressional beneifts, etc. that will inform you of what they are receiving.

Linda L Stump of WI 9:26PM August 20, 2012

http://content.thirdway.org/publications/405/Third_Way_Memo_-_Frequently_Asked_Questions_about_Federal_Retirement_Reform.pdf

Marc Delany of AZ 4:34PM August 19, 2012

Then tell us how to fix Congress. They have made a mess of things and everything in this so called "bogus" email was right on. Give us something that we can do to get congressman out of office and get fresh blood in there

Sandy of OR 1:51PM August 17, 2012

Some of the facts in this article are wrong. It is clear where this persons heart lies. They do not have the same health care as the regular people. Most gov jobs in my area are not offering insurance anymore. Also, the "spam" e-mail didn't say that when their term is done they should not ever make money again, it meant they shouldn't get a full retirement for their service. They should have the same pension plan I do. It should be based on their length of service and last couple years of income.
I work for a public school system, so I am "one of the people" you should compare our elected officials to. Our school system can't afford to hire people to get things done because of the poor decisions made by our elected officials.
On one point, this article is dead on. If we don't like our elected officials, VOTE THEM OUT.

R. Ellsworth of MI 9:29AM August 15, 2012

The past 3.5 years have proven just how broken and disfunctional Congress has become. These people need to be taken to task on the manner in which they have allowed their own political agendas to override the needs of this Country. As a nation we simply can't afford this type of political behavior. No matter how this letter was developed it has some valid points that should be considered. The American public needs to wake up and face reality, the GOP is willing to take this Country down reather than work on the needs on the people.

Howard of MI 1:41AM August 13, 2012

Congressional term limits! The time has come. No more career politicians in Congress...no more pensions, no more excessive perks. Serve, then go back home and live with what you did while serving.

Tony Marshall of MT 11:13AM August 08, 2012

With Gerrymandering, most Congressmen do have de facto tenture. Only about 20% of the contests are really in play.
Many Congressmen are retiring because they get a liberal defined benefit pension, better than most Americans do.

Irwin Dorros of NJ 9:44PM August 04, 2012