Absolutely brilliant idea
came to me tonite.
Follow me here.
We're all concerned about government interference in our lives and the all-pervasive nanny state. We worry endlessly (and correctly) about how to make it stop, about how to preserve and expand our freedoms and liberties, about where it will end and the best way to make our views known. We call and write our elected officials, submit petitions, make veiled (and not so veiled) threats, and everything else, when all along we've been overlooking the most obvious and plain cost benefit analysis known to man: the pocketbook.
Congressmen and senators get paid a salary, right? Pretty much no matter what they do, how many bills they introduce, how many votes they attend, how many speeches they make, they get the same amount of money out of the public coffers. What if we made that salary a "ceiling" of their pay, to be reduced by every new law they passed that affected our liberties, property rights, and livelihood? They would have the ultimate incentive to do NOTHING, to not pass a single law affecting the citizenry at large (internal adminstrative rules and regs could be exempted as long as they imposed no penalty or potential loss of liberty on us.) If their salary was $200K/year, we could imposed a penalty of $10K for the first 3 laws voted into existence, and 15 or 20K for each additional law. If they truly felt a law was worthy and needed, they would literally be putting their money where their mouth was by enacting it. This would prevent useless and frivolous laws written by special interest groups and passed without debate or knowledge as to their contents.
On second thought, it would probably never work. They would just vote themselves a pay raise.[}:)]
Follow me here.
We're all concerned about government interference in our lives and the all-pervasive nanny state. We worry endlessly (and correctly) about how to make it stop, about how to preserve and expand our freedoms and liberties, about where it will end and the best way to make our views known. We call and write our elected officials, submit petitions, make veiled (and not so veiled) threats, and everything else, when all along we've been overlooking the most obvious and plain cost benefit analysis known to man: the pocketbook.
Congressmen and senators get paid a salary, right? Pretty much no matter what they do, how many bills they introduce, how many votes they attend, how many speeches they make, they get the same amount of money out of the public coffers. What if we made that salary a "ceiling" of their pay, to be reduced by every new law they passed that affected our liberties, property rights, and livelihood? They would have the ultimate incentive to do NOTHING, to not pass a single law affecting the citizenry at large (internal adminstrative rules and regs could be exempted as long as they imposed no penalty or potential loss of liberty on us.) If their salary was $200K/year, we could imposed a penalty of $10K for the first 3 laws voted into existence, and 15 or 20K for each additional law. If they truly felt a law was worthy and needed, they would literally be putting their money where their mouth was by enacting it. This would prevent useless and frivolous laws written by special interest groups and passed without debate or knowledge as to their contents.
On second thought, it would probably never work. They would just vote themselves a pay raise.[}:)]
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What you propose has already been tried and is quite successful. You pay people money to sit around and do nothing. It's called "Welfare" and it has succeeded beyond anyone's wildest expectations.
[}:)][:D][:p]0 -
quote:Originally posted by nemesisenforcer
came to me tonite.
Follow me here.
We're all concerned about government interference in our lives and the all-pervasive nanny state. We worry endlessly (and correctly) about how to make it stop, about how to preserve and expand our freedoms and liberties, about where it will end and the best way to make our views known. We call and write our elected officials, submit petitions, make veiled (and not so veiled) threats, and everything else, when all along we've been overlooking the most obvious and plain cost benefit analysis known to man: the pocketbook.
Congressmen and senators get paid a salary, right? Pretty much no matter what they do, how many bills they introduce, how many votes they attend, how many speeches they make, they get the same amount of money out of the public coffers. What if we made that salary a "ceiling" of their pay, to be reduced by every new law they passed that affected our liberties, property rights, and livelihood? They would have the ultimate incentive to do NOTHING, to not pass a single law affecting the citizenry at large (internal adminstrative rules and regs could be exempted as long as they imposed no penalty or potential loss of liberty on us.) If their salary was $200K/year, we could imposed a penalty of $10K for the first 3 laws voted into existence, and 15 or 20K for each additional law. If they truly felt a law was worthy and needed, they would literally be putting their money where their mouth was by enacting it. This would prevent useless and frivolous laws written by special interest groups and passed without debate or knowledge as to their contents.
On second thought, it would probably never work. They would just vote themselves a pay raise.[}:)]
First-off, I don't need to pay anybody to do nothing.
Secondly, the segment of your original quote that I have highlighted is the problem with your suggestion. Who gets to decide that our liberties have been impacted?
Our system of government is designed to make it difficult to pass laws. If you don't like a law that's coming down the pipeline, let your lawmaker know. If enough of us do that (and then act by voting), we'll get the country we want.0 -
Worried about and wanting to end the nanny state? Hell, we just had a post the other day telling us that the food we eat, the roof over our head and our "wonderful" economy was provided to us by none other than GW! 0 -
quote:Originally posted by spurgemastur
quote:Originally posted by nemesisenforcer
came to me tonite.
Follow me here.
We're all concerned about government interference in our lives and the all-pervasive nanny state. We worry endlessly (and correctly) about how to make it stop, about how to preserve and expand our freedoms and liberties, about where it will end and the best way to make our views known. We call and write our elected officials, submit petitions, make veiled (and not so veiled) threats, and everything else, when all along we've been overlooking the most obvious and plain cost benefit analysis known to man: the pocketbook.
Congressmen and senators get paid a salary, right? Pretty much no matter what they do, how many bills they introduce, how many votes they attend, how many speeches they make, they get the same amount of money out of the public coffers. What if we made that salary a "ceiling" of their pay, to be reduced by every new law they passed that affected our liberties, property rights, and livelihood? They would have the ultimate incentive to do NOTHING, to not pass a single law affecting the citizenry at large (internal adminstrative rules and regs could be exempted as long as they imposed no penalty or potential loss of liberty on us.) If their salary was $200K/year, we could imposed a penalty of $10K for the first 3 laws voted into existence, and 15 or 20K for each additional law. If they truly felt a law was worthy and needed, they would literally be putting their money where their mouth was by enacting it. This would prevent useless and frivolous laws written by special interest groups and passed without debate or knowledge as to their contents.
On second thought, it would probably never work. They would just vote themselves a pay raise.[}:)]
First-off, I don't need to pay anybody to do nothing.
Secondly, the segment of your original quote that I have highlighted is the problem with your suggestion. Who gets to decide that our liberties have been impacted?
Our system of government is designed to make it difficult to pass laws. If you don't like a law that's coming down the pipeline, let your lawmaker know. If enough of us do that (and then act by voting), we'll get the country we want.
for my part, I'd rather pay them more to do nothing and keep my liberty and freedom than pay them less to take it away from me.
JMO0 -
Socialism sucks. 0
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