How to fix government, no dude, really!

What if we passed a bill that made it so we, the people, vote on how much Senators and House Representatives get paid. If we are going to be paying them out of our tax dollars, why shouldn't we be able to regulate their salary. If they do a shitty job, they don't get paid. Simple. It would create a competitive environment where the person would actually be trying to do what the majority wanted, because making them happy gets him a raise. As of right now, the senate votes on their own raises; that money comes out of taxes.

Submitted by: Syrious 12 weeks 3 days ago – Made popular 12 weeks 2 days ago
Category: offbeat Tags:

avg votes:	20	up votes:	21	down votes:	1	total votes:	22

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We could implement a system where during every election, the ballet shows how each representative and senate member voted for each bill. Then, you will have to vote for a few things. First, is whether or not to keep any of them in office. If he/she wins reelection, then you vote on performance; based on how you feel on how that person voted on bills. If the person was amazing, worked to do everything he could for the people, not for the senate or himself, there would be an option to vote for a pay raise to motivate them to continue doing exceptional. Or, if a person wins reelection, yet he/she was doing poorly; but, he/she was better than the other option (lesser of two evils situation, which is often the case), then there can be an option to lower the person's pay, signaling to that person to change his/her action and focus more on the voice of the people.

Syrious 12 weeks 3 days 2 hours 19 min ago

I don't think this would work because the politicians doing a shitty job don't really care about their salary as a politician because the money they make from business deals and the amount of investments they make provides them with a lot more money than a politicians salary. They are merely politicians in order to be in a position of power which gives them the opportunity to make these investments. And this is not just in the US, it is the case in most countries. This is because politicians have job security from when they are voted until the next election, the only way they can lose their job is if they f**k up big time and are blasted all over the media because of it. If politicians were scared that they would lose their position of power then they would do things that benefitted everyone and not just themselves.

PrasinoPekino 12 weeks 1 day 21 hours 56 min ago

There's more to it than just income. The salary is not only their earnings, it's also a symbol. It labels them based on their quality of duty. If you are voting to keep your senator, but then you see his pay has been cut several times to 30% less than the average senator, you might rethink your vote to keep that person in power. Over time, I believe people become apathetic and stop paying attention to what's happening. But if there is a constant reminder saying "This person earns a lot because he's doing a good job." vs. "This person isn't earning a lot, but still seems to have a huge revenue; maybe we should rethink why he's still in power." It might not be full proof, but nothing ever is; the point is to make steps in the right direction.

Syrious 12 weeks 1 day 21 hours 11 min ago

brilliant

Kling 12 weeks 1 day 12 hours 32 min ago

Too bad they get "endorsed" (bribed) by corporate interests on top of the pay D:

1337w33d 2 weeks 4 days 4 hours 4 min ago