Silence in the Congressional halls

Since I haven’t heard much to the contrary, I guess we can say that the Democrats’ control of Congress have been relatively successful thus far. With a host of different bills on the table which call for improvement and crooks in high places finally getting theirs (somewhat), it might be safe to say that the crap produced by years of GOP control is finally starting stabilize.

But, I don’t think the Democratic-controlled Congress should kick their feet up and relax just yet. I certainly don't think we should let them off the hook. There are a few more things that I think need to be done before we can claim real progress in this country. But interestingly, I don’t think Congress really cares much to talk about them. Luckily for them, I do:

Adjustments of FICA contributions based on income
Say what you want, but the FICA tax sucks. Though it’s supposed to finance important initiatives like Social Security and Medicare, the way the feds collect these payroll taxes is a joke. If somebody can rationally justify why multi-millionaires and billionaires are paying the same amount of their income as you and me by way of FICA, I’ll give you my year’s worth of salary and I’ll pay the FICA. Any takers?

I can take one guess on who would be against this idea.

Support of the troops. Literally.
Why the government hasn’t made moves to completely and unconditionally supply for the VA fund is beyond me. For a government who is ostensibly committed to “Supporting our troops”, and who will beat up on anybody (Dems especially) who say anything remotely denigrating about the troops, their support of troops has been limited to providing low-level care and insulting compensation for the troops’ sacrifice (Hello? Anybody been following the story about the Walter Reed Military Hospital?

I was disturbed to find out that war vets were deliberately being shortchanged on their disability ratings; which, in turn, impacts the type of service they receive and the amount of time it takes for them to receive that service. Since many vets are too wounded or traumatized to reasonably re-enter the workforce (that, and the fact that military actually sells service as a “job opportunity”), they find themselves in a position where they based their livelihoods on the medical care and benefits they receive from the VA.

While we're on benefits, what ever happened to the free education used as a selling tool to recruit? With rising tuition costs, the $30,000 or so vets are allowed (only allocated while they’re still enlisted, by the way) is barely enough to pay for a couple of years of education at most colleges. There needs to also be an increase in loans, subsidies, unemployment pay, job placement, and medical assistance for those who serve this country.

Furthermore, I have no doubts that more examination must go into the post traumatic stress that comes with being in war. I’m not sure if there is an official name for it, but I do know that people in the military all -- for the most part -- accept it as a serious medical condition. American troops (as I’m sure is the case with other nation’s s military personnel) are developing severe neurological disorders that come not only from being targeted in combat, but also from their killing of others. During the Second World War and all of the subsequent conflicts, our soldiers’ ability to kill has improved drastically. If you’re one of the old, fat guys in Congress declaring war on the rest of the world, this is good news. But if you’re one of the actual soldiers doing the fighting/killing, it’s not so good. In Iraq, for instance, where there is still lots of hand-to-hand combat (even with the proliferation of long-range devices), soldiers are being forced to carry the stress of killing someone or watching their fellow brothers killed themselves. The psychological damage that could possibly ensue as a result is off the charts.

No matter how you slice it, we need to hold the government (yes…the GOVERNMENT) responsible for revamping the GI Bill. The expectation that a soldier can go to a foreign land, watch friends and family get killed, kill others, and lose limbs (all of which compromise his/her quality of life); then come home to life-as-usual is ridiculous. The government needs to take care of the folks that they continue to put in harm’s way.

Abolishing secret access budgets
The existence of clandestine spending practices frightens the hell out of me. Essentially, federally sponsor organizations (particular military/defense groups) have the right to secretly spend large sums of money (or special access funds) without informing us. In previous conflicts, these secret budgets would have made perfect sense; when the enemy’s arms and defense budgets were comparable to ours. But, I’m sorry to say: Al Qaeda is not very likely to produce multi-million dollar jets and billion dollar battle ships. We’re not talking about conflicts with China, Japan, or Russia; where we could conceivable get our butts kicked. We’re taking about Iraqis who barely have a government established.

In addition to being obsolete given our current enemies, special access programs also put our country in a precarious spot. Since these budget programs go unchecked, it’s very easy to get caught up in wasteful consumption and down-right fraud. When the NRO (the National Reconaissance Office) concealed and then failed to justify their $300+ million building, red flags should have been raised. But incidentally, they were not. Something is wrong with that picture.

Coinciding minimum working wages to the rate of inflation
Don’t get me wrong: the Democratic-pushed hike in the federal minimum wage was cool. But let’s be real here: This is only a band-aided solution to a long term problem. The feds put us in this dilemma largely because shifts in wages have never been congruent with shifts in inflation. So what we’re left with is either an economic stalemate – or a decline – in real wages. If they can finally get it right, the working class with be able to sustain even after Alan Greenspan announces predictions of inflation rate increases. Maybe if the feds take my advice, Ted Kennedy won’t have to keep lashing out.

Implementing tougher lobby laws
After Jack Abramoff and Duke Cunningham both went on the record admitting that they bribed members of Congress (I intentionally said “members”. If you think Tom Delay was the only Congressional crook here, you’re sadly mistaken.), it’s not only time to make this type of lobbying illegal, but also make it less easy to hide.

Of course, tougher laws on lobbying (or, as I like to call it, 'buying support') are not likely to come around too soon. I mean, half the Democrats in Congress right now have probably been bought off at some point or another. I mean, is it a secret that proposals to ban congressional earmarks and private expenses (of which a bunch of Congressmen are guilty) never even made it to the bill? What about a proposal to create a new Office of Public Integrity; which would strip the Senate (some of the key players in corruption) of the power to investigate charges against ethics? Struck down.

Most of all, the lobby bills that have been pushed have done nothing to prevent lobbyists from aiding Congressmen in building campaign contributions, fund raising, etc. Gee. I wonder why.

Pass impeachments out all around
I think it’s about time we remove the idea that impeachment can only come from committing a crime that is written on paper. Even the Constitution (correct me if I’m wrong, Hippie) allows for some of the offensives that became popular in the Bush Adminstration (cronyism, lying to Congress, carelessly wasting taxpayer dollars, abusing power, and incompetence) to be treated as causes for impeachment.

I could be wrong, but I don’t think the founding fathers would have gotten too huffy about a President lying about blowjobs (if they did, President Jefferson would’ve been screwed. No pun intended.). They would, however, bring to bear a person who lied to promote war (even given Bush the benefit of doubt about lying, you can’t say that he wasn’t at least grossly misinformed), failed monumentally with national emergencies, hired nothing but buddies to do jobs for which they were not qualified, and usurped the power of the highest legal document in the land.

Even if impeachment doesn’t get Bush and his folks out of office, at least it tells the world that lies, incompetence, and favor-currying won’t hold up in public service.

So there you are: things we need to hear from Congress, but probably won't. In the Dems's defense (I guess), the twelve-year GOP-led Congress has done more damage to this country than even the dramatic face lift of Election '06 can remedy. But it certainly doesn't mean that some major changes still can't be made to improve things. But, in an effort to score and secure as many political points as possible, I can't say that I'm placing my trust in the Dems to accomplish much else any time soon.

I really hate politics.

- ACL