OUR NON-PERFORMING CONGRESS
(politicking for 2012….at taxpayers’ expense)

The latest reports about our so-called economic recovery from the 2008 recession show that recovery is not only anemic, but, is moving forward at only a banana slug’s pace. Not enough to generate the kind of job creation our country really needs to get the economy back into high gear.

I don’t know how anyone else perceives it, down here at our “street” level, but all those talking bobble-headed pundits and experts on the subject, expounding on how this or that factor is the cause for such marginal economic energy….have it all wrong.

The real cause for it is just plain – uncertainty – . That is, uncertainty about how, when, and in what way our non-performing Congress will get off its buns and do what needs doing to fix things, instead of continuing to waste what’s left of our tax dollars on politicking for 2012….at our expense.

What we taxpaying voters are looking for are some signs of leadership by example, along with some evidence such leadership still has some residues of commonsense, and, more importantly, is prepared to tackle our financial and budgetary problems pragmatically rather than with ideology. So, until that happens, our economy will continue to sputter and backfire like the poorly maintained engine it has become.

To help restore our certitude in the “full faith and credit” of our country’s ability and capacity to straighten out its finances, and, to pay its current and future bills, here are some general thoughts and ideas about how to go about it (Mr. President and all members of Congress, kindly take notes here. There will be a pop-quiz in 2012 for you, and there will only be two possible grades….Pass….or….Fail):

1) As a leadership-by-example effort, and a real, not feigned, concern about our economic condition, the President should call for a special joint-session of Congress to immediately adopt a binding joint-resolution to approve a 10% pay cut of all pay and allowances for himself, the Vice-President, all Cabinet level officials, and all members of Congress, for the remainder of his term. As a token gesture it won’t amount to much, dollar-wise, but at least it will show they are prepared to tighten their own belts, and not live fat while the rest of us have to make do with lean cuisine.

2) To show they are serious about reducing our national debt levels, concurrently resolve that henceforth the first item of expense for any fiscal year’s budget, right off the top before any other expenditures, will be a 5% set aside, 3% of it to be applied directly to servicing our accrued debt, and 2% applied to rebuild our bullion reserves as back up collateral against that debt. The cumulative impacts of that will not only restore our certitudes, but also, re-value our dollar so Mr. Geitner can begin slowing down the output of those printing presses of his.

3) And to show their collective resolve to control, if not reduce, those excessive spending habits they’ve developed over the past fifty years or so, they further resolve that henceforth any deficit occurring in any fiscal year will automatically be spread throughout the entire Federal government’s structure, from the Presidency right down to the very last budgetary unit. That will force every budgeter worthy of the name to aim first at any contingency/fudge factors, before any particular line item or program. Such a diffusion of any deficit being based on the principle that since the government creates that deficit….it should be the first one to have to eat it (we taxpayers gave at the tax office already).

4) Lastly, to improve the transparency of our government’s financial and budgetary processes, require that henceforth all branches, departments, agencies, commissions, bureaus, etc. be required to produce and publish a quarterly financial status report and fiscal year-end balance sheet and profit and loss summaries. Such reports to conform to commonly accepted accounting principles and standards, unlike the current practice of co-mingling disparate funds and revenues, and miss-categorizing expenditures. The GAO would be charged with overseeing and enforcing such standards by applying its well known forensic auditing skills for all of that.

None of these measures would be particularly difficult to implement, giving us a leaner, more efficient, and more importantly, a more rational fiscal and budgetary system for our country. One which would do much to not only restore our own certitudes that a more prosperous tomorrow is waiting for us down the road, but also, to show the rest of the world that America will no longer be a giant panhandler country, but one which was setting aside its partisan politics to restore its premier economic status in it.
Well, the odds against any of that happening any time soon are about as long as betting on the accuracy of Reverend Canning’s end-of-world predictions. We’re more likely to be disappointed….on both counts.

CENTURION