We the People

Elections are like job interviews. As voters, that’s how we should be evaluating House and Senate candidates for political office. They want the job representing us on some serious issues like life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It’s an attractive opportunity. Starting salary, $174,000, free airport parking, free gym, up to 239 days off a year, you can earn up to an additional $15,000 a year from outside income, a cost of living raise every January 1st, $3,000 annual tax deduction for living expenses while away from home, health insurance, vesting after five years, generous pension and retirement benefits, you have to be 30 years old to become a US Senator, and 25 to be a Representative, and finally, no experience necessary. Representatives get job evaluations every two years, but senators don’t get reviewed for six years. Where else can you get jobs like these?

These jobs didn’t start out this way. Ben Franklin proposed senators and congressmen should work for free. Ben had some great ideas in his life, he was told to go fly a kite when he brought this up. But, the Founding Fathers came up with a reasonable pay scale. From 1789 to 1855, members would be paid a $6.00 per diem, but only while in session. But all good ideas can get old, so in 1855 our senators and representatives started being paid $3,000 a year. That’s the $82,381.88 in 2018 dollars. Not too many Americans were making that kind of money in 1855.

People have made the argument for term limits to avoid elected officials being in office for years, and worrying too much about being re-elected. Congressmen and women complain that they have to spend hours on the phone or at fund raisers to raise money for the next election, which happens every two years. But, we as citizens have the power to “throw the bums out” if we are dissatisfied. But only about half of eligible voters bother to vote. That’s like our boss ignoring a poor job performance, and just letting it continue with no consequences. With the right to vote, comes responsibility. We have to hold our elected officials accountable. Where do they stand on issues? What are they doing to compromise and accommodate those who disagree so that legislation gets passed? People complain that nothing ever gets done in Washington. Everyone is corrupt. Why bother to pay attention? If you don’t like what’s happening, you can change it. Is it easy? No. We are at a critical turning point this election year. About 40 incumbents are not running for re-election. Thousands of people are running for office, who never considered it before. This is an opportunity for new blood and new ideas to revitalize our political discourse. Do you know who is running to represent you? How is your job interview going?

There are many critical issues facing the next congress, including possible impeachment proceedings. There will be decisions made that will effect us, our children, and grandchildren. Several Supreme Court justices are in their 80s and could be retiring from the court. It’s the Senate that determines if a nominee gets confirmed for a lifetime appointment which could last 30 years, and those justices get no performance review.

Change can happen. Consider the issues facing the first congress that met from 1789 to 1791. James Madison said, “We are in a wilderness without a single footstep to guide us.” The country had no source of revenue, more than 50 currencies in circulation,  everyone was suspicious of everyone else, and southern states were threatening secession over slavery. Congress was trying to create a country. It did a pretty good job. It established the executive departments, started raising money, approved the first amendments, created a system to pay the government’s debt, started the First National Bank, established what became Washington DC as the capital, and established the Federal Court System and the Supreme Court. How is that for some accomplishments? These men came from different parts of the country with strongly held beliefs, but they had one thing in common, how do we agree and get government to work for the people who sent us to do the job?

The preamble to the Constitution lays out why our political leaders thought establishment of these principals was so important. “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States.” These are the things we all want, and thousands died defending. We owe it to them and ourselves to decide who’s the best candidate for the job.