I was fortunate enough to spend a weekend with Warren Buffett a few years ago. On the golf course, it was incredibly surreal having Warren (and Bill Gates) cheering on an impossible putt that I almost dropped. But that is a story for another time.
Spending any time with Warren, one quickly learns he’s an eminently practical person… he just the type of guy that exudes common sense.
So it’s absolutely no surprise to me that Warren would know how to solve the debt crisis in 5 minutes.
And, it’s no surprise that I would completely and utterly agree with his plan.
Below is an email that everyone is forwarding to everyone… it’s not long and worth reading all the way through… and probably worth pounding our fists on the table for as well!
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The Way It Is Now
Salary of retired US Presidents .. . . . .. . . . . .. . ……….$180,000 FOR LIFE
Salary of retired House/Senate members .. . . . .. . . . $174,000 FOR LIFE
Salary of retired Speaker of the House .. . . . .. . . . . . .$223,500 FOR LIFE
Salary of retired Majority / Minority Leaders . . .. . . . $193,400 FOR LIFE
Average Salary of a teacher . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. .. . . . . . .$40,065
Average Salary of a deployed Soldier . . .. . . .. . . . . . . $38,000
I think we found where the cuts should be made!
Warren Buffett, in a recent interview with CNBC, offers one of the best quotes about the debt ceiling: “I could end the deficit in five minutes,” he told CNBC. “You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election”.
The 26th Amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only three months and eight days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971 – before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc. Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven ( 7 ) took one ( 1 ) year or less to become the law of the land – all because of public pressure. Warren Buffett is asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise. In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.
The BUFFETT Rule – THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!
Congressional Reform Act of 2017
1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they’re out of office.
2. Congress ( past, present, & future ) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 3/1/17. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women. Congress made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and go back to work.
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