pb4uski
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I was listening to NPR and had the following ideas to avoid government shutdowns like we are having today.
I realize that such changes may require constitutional amendments rather than just legislation and that it is unlikely that Congress would ever agree to impose such onerous restrictions on themselves - but we can dream can’t we? The idea is to make somewhat of a poison pill to force Congress to do what it is supposed to do.
The current situation and who’s to blame is NOT part of the subject of this thread so please focus on the notion for future and not on the current situation to keep Porky at bay. I think it could be an interesting thread if we can avoid partisan politics.
- Get rid of the debt ceiling – the total debt can just as easily be managed through the budget process as through the debt ceiling process. The debt ceiling is an antiquated notion that is no longer needed and just adds one more opportunity for government to be dysfuntional.
- Budget process – until the recent partisan gridlock Congress regularly passed budgets. There has not been a budget passed in recent years. Have a specific date by which Congress must pass a budget. If Congress has not passed a budget by that date, then all Congressmen’s terms end immediately. The governor of each state then has 30 days to appoint new Senators and Representatives to serve the remaining terms of the Congress subject to a requirement that 1) none can have served in the Congress at the time the budget wasn’t passed (ie; all different people) and 2) the governors must retain parity in party representation for a state (same numbers of D, R and I for each house for their state. If that newly appointed Congress does not pass a budget within 60 days then repeat the process.
I realize that such changes may require constitutional amendments rather than just legislation and that it is unlikely that Congress would ever agree to impose such onerous restrictions on themselves - but we can dream can’t we? The idea is to make somewhat of a poison pill to force Congress to do what it is supposed to do.
The current situation and who’s to blame is NOT part of the subject of this thread so please focus on the notion for future and not on the current situation to keep Porky at bay. I think it could be an interesting thread if we can avoid partisan politics.