How would you reform the CONGRESS ?

[Seiyuuki]

Because if they do it for a long time it becomes a ruling class. Congress and the house of reps were supposed to be regular people who take a few years off to represent their area and go back home and continue life.

The Founding Fathers and most of our earlier Congressional delegates were well-off themselves, their notion of government services was that it be a sacrifice for the People. Somewhere along the way, it went from that to being, Congress, a doorway to becoming a multimillionaire.

[toad]

I'm not even sure what the nebulus term 'reform' would mean in regards to Congress....but they could not reform it in 1865, 1965 and they won't in 2065. There has been lobbying, backroom deals, cronyism, scammimg, scheming and slander for almost 200 years.


You might have better luck trying to put out the sun....

[tyovan]

What will Presidents do in such a proportional representation system? Or are you looking for a Prime Minister?

Same as they do now. I'm not looking for a Prime Minister.

[vryhpyammoadded]

Have a nationwide Tax revolt.

[American Caesar]

Hmmmmmm interesting comments on here.

[IconOfEvi]

Burn it down, start over

Ill go into depth later, but make it as painful as possible to be a legislator. It should be a civic duty, not a millionaire passport

[C.Puffs]

Burn it down, start over

Ill go into depth later, but make it as painful as possible to be a legislator. It should be a civic duty, not a millionaire passport

This. Start the reform with a guillotine and heads on pikes down the sides of the Reflecting Pool at the Washington Monument. There are a lot of corrupt sacks of $hit sitting in Washington (and at the state level). I'd make corruption a capital offense with very limited appeals. No sitting on death row for years for those a$$holes. Super PACS would be gone and I'd make it so people would be scared to even say the word "lobbyist".

[kool_kruiser]

I am not American so I am not sure whether this is already in place:

A requirement for all members of congress to declare income and assets every year - including those offshore.

[Violet Fashion by Mindy]

It's not just Congress that is broken. The hole dam system is broken.

Presidents can't do ****, congress can't do **** and the senate can't do ****.

This is played out the world over. Thanks largely to political parties.

[Kilgor]

Shoot em all and let god sort em out.

But seriously, its beyond repair.

Short term and self interest > long term sensibility.

Take for example of the welfare system, is any politician going to call for genuine reform ? Not if they want to stay in office.

[Andrew Chalmers]

Same as they do now. I'm not looking for a Prime Minister.

So what will the President do in a situation where the proportional represented parliament is split up into 8 or a dozen voting blocks and cannot agree to initiate any sort of spending bill? Shut the government down every 3 years?

Can the President dissolve the parliament?

[KoTeMoRe]

So what will the President do in a situation where the proportional represented parliament is split up into 8 or a dozen voting blocks and cannot agree to initiate any sort of spending bill? Shut the government down every 3 years?

Can the President dissolve the parliament?

You mean in another political architecture than the United States or America?

It can in various countries. The most obvious being the French Dissolution in 1997 that backfired.

[tyovan]

So what will the President do in a situation where the proportional represented parliament is split up into 8 or a dozen voting blocks and cannot agree to initiate any sort of spending bill? Shut the government down every 3 years?

Can the President dissolve the parliament?

The Congress already gets itself into that mess now. Introducing additional parties into the mix may help break up the zero-sum gridlock.

And no - no additional powers for the Presidency. I'm not turning this into a parliament - I'm just changing how we elect members to the House, so no special snap elections or dissolving of the legislature.

[shermbodius]

Kill it from space.
Seriously, I would have term limits and make the pay and benefits much lower. Make sure only true patriots get the position.

[JKD]

Congress could be least productive since 1947

http://news.yahoo.com/congress-could...011137011.html