The other day, I wrote a letter to the editor of our local paper (Arizona Republic). It comes from a discussion that a few of us were having around the state of our political landscape. As I have stated before, I don’t like bringing up political type post on my blog. I again can not help myself. Have you ever written a letter to the editor? It is much easier than I thought. Simply find the Letter to the Editor section on their website and write away. Only concern I have is that they limit you to 200 words. I get that you should be short and sweet to get your point across. Sometimes a little more can really make it happen. I want to share what I wrote (with a few more words in it) below.
The topic is our government is broken or failing in areas. I want to take an approach to fixing the problem with not “new” ideas, but with a new approach to how we reward our political leaders. Let me know what you think!
Our government is broken or at the very least can not seem to work together for the best interest of the people that they are supposed to represent. Look at just a few points that make this very clear: Congress’ most basic responsibility is deciding how much money the government takes in and how much it spends. They clearly fail in this areas as the deficit continues to grow. Only four times since 1952 has Congress has only passed all government spending bills on time. It has been over 15 years since Congress has passed all appropriations bills. Clearly, they will not pass anything on-time in the future. This has resulted in a more wasteful and inefficient government. Worst of all, Congress doesn’t ever have the opportunity to discuss the most fundamental questions of all: What are our nation’s priorities and how much should we spend on those priorities?
We are in another election year and I fear that we will continue to see more of the same for years to come unless something changes. Here are just a few of the changes that I would like to see: I think it about time to really take action around incentives for our Congress. You want to get paid, do your job. Stop the stonewalling, stop the positioning and stop the party line rhetoric. We need to focus on what “our” priorities are for moving forward. Time for the top 5 priorities to be named and focused on. I understand that the 5 priorities will be a sticking point for our elected officials. So, here is some help in no particular order. Start with jobs. When people have money they increase spending and stimulate the economy. Reduction in our debt (balanced budget). Some would call this government size and spending. If each of us, at home, were to do this we would be out on the street. Time to either increase revenue to match spending or reduce spending to match revenue. Reduction in dependence on fossil fuels. Time for us to really get serious about our environment. Gas prices, global warming and major oil company profits – we need to focus on what is right. Improvements in education. If we really want a better tomorrow, it starts with making sure that our youngsters are ready. We have to improve the overall learning experience and increase the use of technology to make it happen. Reduction in overall crime. We have many areas to focus on here. Problem is, we have to look at the root cause of crimes and fix those. Drug problem comes from supply and demand. Time to take away the supply with an increase focus on the reasons for demand. Take the time to stand up and set up goals (short term and long term) for fixing the priorities. Develop and track the performance to that goals (scorecard). If you are meeting them – you get paid. If not, no pay!
I heard growing up that you are either a part of the solution or a part of the problem. Right now, I don’t see much in the way of solutions. Time to step up or get our of the way.
There is much more than 200 words in my Letter to the Editor. I took out the top 5 priority example. I am afraid after listening to our presidential candidates that they are not focusing on the top ones, but those that get a raise out of some individuals. It is time to stop that personal connection to some issues and focus on what will make America great again. Our arguing about abortion, marriage and religious family values are all hot buttons, but at the end of the day do they really fix what is happening with the country? Really?
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