Real Change

*Written by 'Triad' Link is below* REAL CHANGE will ONLY happen if WE make it happen!! Politicians, ALL politicians will not serve the common people of this nation until they ARE common people of this nation. Politicians are RICH to begin with or else they cannot run as an "effective" candidate. They do not relate to common people and speak only in euphemistic idealism and platitudes of populist idealism. None of which they have any intentions of following through with. Bush did it. Clinton did it, Obama is definitely doing it. There will be NO CHANGE with him, or anyone under the current "system" of government we now endure! The truth is simple: REAL CHANGE will ONLY happen if WE make it happen!! Time for us to get control of the incredibly dysfunctional form our government has devolved into and hit the "reset button." This will require an effort equal to what happened in Egypt and Tunisia, and trying to happen in Libya. Until we have common people in the legislature and running the government, you are just going to change the faces but NEVER SOLVE THE PROBLEMS. You may think these are unrealizable goals, but then, how realistic was it when the Colonial Army took on the British in the war for independence? We won that one, too, in case you've forgotten.... Here's were we begin "budget reform".... Congressional Reform Act of 2012 1. Term Limits. 8 years only, one of the possible options below.. A. Two 4-year Senate terms B. 4 Two-year House terms C. One 8-year Senate term and Two 4-Year House terms D. One 8 year term for Supreme Court Justices If term limits are requisite for the President, Vice-President, and State Governors, then they most certainly are equally imperative based on the same principles for ALL of our legislators and even the judicial high seats. 2. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office. 3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. 4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do. 5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%. 6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people. 7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people. 8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make these contracts with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. 9. Make all lobbyists and special interest groups illegal. They have no basis or rights for their existence except the greed of the oligarchs they represent. This is the heart of our dysfunctional government system. This is "legal bribery" in America and the Supreme Court has sanctioned it. 10. All campaign contributions, corporate or private, cannot exceed $250 max. No candidate can use their OWN money to campaign with. This violates the constitutional principles of equal opportunities for ALL people in the nation. If candidates qualify for federal campaign monies, then that is what they can use. Otherwise, they hit the trail like everyone else for the last 200 years. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work. *Written as a response to an artical {http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110415/ts_yblog_thelookout/closer-look-lead-codices-spending-cuts-and-the-deficit-problem} by someone known as 'Triad' on Yahoo.com