Make Congress earn their pay....Guest Blogger: Kelly from Basil's World Forum

     I am sick and tired of hearing about which party is responsible for downfall and destruction of whatever.  Plainly put, hardly anyone is happy with Congress.  Therefore, I am proposing a change to the Congressional pay structure and how Congress does business.  This change would ensure each congressional person keeps in touch with his/her ward and votes in the way each ward wants them to vote.
     My proposal is a pay for performance system.  The system is already in place for GS workers and is called the NSPS system.  The NSPS system would need to be tweaked a little but here is the gist of the system.
     Each American citizen receives a voter registration card upon turning 18 and when they register to vote.   Each quarter, the citizens of each congressional ward would log into a secured website and rate his/her congressional person.  Each ward would be required to have no less than 50% of its citizens voting and the rating must be a favorable rating for their congressional person to receive a monetary award.  No bonus is awarded if the percentage of citizens is not met or the rating is not favorable.  I understand that there are times that each congressional person needs to vote against what the citizens of their ward want and might affect their bonus but remember, they volunteered to be Congressmen/women (sounds familiar to military folks). 
     The Congressman/woman would be paid on a base salary in addition to any possible bonuses he/she might earn.  This base salary would increase in steps depending on the number of years served and number of subcommittees he/she served in (very similar to the military pay chart).  This base salary could only be increased by a 2/3rd majority of the citizens of the US, not by Congress themselves.
     What would this new pay system do?  This pay system would encourage and entice each Congressman/woman to not just work for the people of their ward but work together to get laws, budgets, and other items passed (or fail, depending on the outcome).  It might not reduce pork-barrel spending but it would cut it down.  It would also make each Congressman/woman responsible for informing their ward of their record. 
     Why this proposed new system will never come to be.  Congressmen/women would hate it.  It would make them responsible to others besides themselves.  It would reduce their vacation time, free time away from work, and any other frivolous events.  It would increase their responsibilities to the average citizen and reduce their money inflow from businesses.  It would eliminate those individuals now serving in Congress who are there for the money and fame.  Finally, it would eliminate the elitist attitudes because they must report to the citizens of their ward, thus making them servants of the people (this should sound familiar to everyone). 

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