MYM
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
OK, don't start singing kumbayah just yet, but I believe that there might be an idea that could bring people of opposite sides of the political spectrum together.
By now most of us have heard about the "move your money" campaign. It's the idea that simply states we should move our money out of the big banks and move them to our local banks. Now since our representatives are more afraid of the big banks, which contribute to their campaign coffers, than they are of the people they represent, our representatives will do nothing to prevent big banks from threatening our economy again. So we must act. Moving the money to our local banks will begin to shrink those institutions and would also help out our local economy.
Local farmers and small-business men will have access to capital so they can improve their operations. Young families can move into new homes. And entrepreneurs can get the cash they need to finally start up a business. And all this activity will result in more jobs for our neighbors and more economic growth.
But maybe we can do more. Maybe it's time we move our senators and our representatives as well. Now I don't believe in term limits. I also believe that length of service is not the problem. The problem is where they live. So let's move our representatives out of Washington, D.C. It's not that the city is a bad place. I say move them because that is where most of the lobbyists reside and the temptation of easy money for votes is too great. And with the recent Supreme Court ruling allowing corporations (foreign and domestic) to spend unlimited amounts of money to shape legislation, we need to get our congressmen and senators as far away from lobbyists as possible.
So let's make it illegal for all representatives to be physically out of the areas they represent for more than 25 percent of the time and that all of their work-related travel and communications be made public on a weekly basis in the local newspapers. This way we will know who they are talking to when they are representing us. And there is nothing like the pressure of facing their constituents on daily basis to ensure that our senators and representatives do the right thing.
Just imagine a congressman walking to his office and facing a small business men who needed the tax cut that he voted against. Or the congresswoman who has to face mothers whose children will face cuts in school lunches because she voted against a particular bill. They may be able to hide in Washington but it's impossible to hide on Main Street. With the growth of communications technology (video conference, cell phones, fax machines, e-mail) and travel there is no need for our representatives to live in Washington where the lobbyists are just a few steps away.
Now just imagine the cost for the lobbyists trying to talk to our representatives.
I will guarantee that the comfort level that our representatives and the lobbyists are accustomed to sharing will diminish quickly under the glaring eyes of we the people and doing the right thing by their constituents would be so much easier.
Robert Betances
Warsaw, via e-mail[[In-content Ad]]Editor's Note: This letter was edited to conform more closely to the 500-word limit as stated in our letters policy.
OK, don't start singing kumbayah just yet, but I believe that there might be an idea that could bring people of opposite sides of the political spectrum together.
By now most of us have heard about the "move your money" campaign. It's the idea that simply states we should move our money out of the big banks and move them to our local banks. Now since our representatives are more afraid of the big banks, which contribute to their campaign coffers, than they are of the people they represent, our representatives will do nothing to prevent big banks from threatening our economy again. So we must act. Moving the money to our local banks will begin to shrink those institutions and would also help out our local economy.
Local farmers and small-business men will have access to capital so they can improve their operations. Young families can move into new homes. And entrepreneurs can get the cash they need to finally start up a business. And all this activity will result in more jobs for our neighbors and more economic growth.
But maybe we can do more. Maybe it's time we move our senators and our representatives as well. Now I don't believe in term limits. I also believe that length of service is not the problem. The problem is where they live. So let's move our representatives out of Washington, D.C. It's not that the city is a bad place. I say move them because that is where most of the lobbyists reside and the temptation of easy money for votes is too great. And with the recent Supreme Court ruling allowing corporations (foreign and domestic) to spend unlimited amounts of money to shape legislation, we need to get our congressmen and senators as far away from lobbyists as possible.
So let's make it illegal for all representatives to be physically out of the areas they represent for more than 25 percent of the time and that all of their work-related travel and communications be made public on a weekly basis in the local newspapers. This way we will know who they are talking to when they are representing us. And there is nothing like the pressure of facing their constituents on daily basis to ensure that our senators and representatives do the right thing.
Just imagine a congressman walking to his office and facing a small business men who needed the tax cut that he voted against. Or the congresswoman who has to face mothers whose children will face cuts in school lunches because she voted against a particular bill. They may be able to hide in Washington but it's impossible to hide on Main Street. With the growth of communications technology (video conference, cell phones, fax machines, e-mail) and travel there is no need for our representatives to live in Washington where the lobbyists are just a few steps away.
Now just imagine the cost for the lobbyists trying to talk to our representatives.
I will guarantee that the comfort level that our representatives and the lobbyists are accustomed to sharing will diminish quickly under the glaring eyes of we the people and doing the right thing by their constituents would be so much easier.
Robert Betances
Warsaw, via e-mail[[In-content Ad]]Editor's Note: This letter was edited to conform more closely to the 500-word limit as stated in our letters policy.
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