EDITOR:
I am from a generation that was taught to respect those in authority, however many of you have neither earned nor command that respect. The news is filled with absurd policies being proffered by a government that seems to have lost its (collective) mind. Americans are fed up with your inability to solve any problems or fix anything. Playing the blame game has replaced responsible governing. People are tired of statements that start out with "The Democrats (this)" or "The Republicans (that)." Many of our problems have been brewing for decades (Social Security and Medicare funding for starters), and many of you have been in government long enough to be responsible for failing to solve them. Stop acting like you don't know how we got here - you, members of Congress, put us here. Stop acting like these problems were caused by someone else - they were caused, sirs and madams, by you. Stop behaving like school children and start solving the problems that we sent you there to fix. And try not to bankrupt us along the way.
Let me offer these general thoughts:
1. Many of our problems (think health care reform) can be fixed, or at least improved, by addressing waste, fraud and abuse, rather than by massive government takeovers involving mind boggling amounts of money. I have heard little about tort reform (a cap on punitive damages) which would make malpractice insurance more affordable for doctors and eliminate many unnecessary tests now being performed not for medical reasons, but rather to avoid later legal action; or allowing emergency rooms to turn away people who show up with minor problems, thus burdening the entire system. Many "simple reforms" would be effective without gutting the best health care system in the world and replacing it with health care "rationing," especially for seniors. How we have gone from health care reform to single payer (read government run) socialized medicine?
2. Keep your suggestions for what this country should do in a global context. Cap and trade makes sense, just as soon as you get the Chinese and Indians on board. Doing anything unilaterally will do little to address global greenhouse emissions and will drive energy costs higher, costs that will be passed on to the consumer. Let's keep our "green" initiatives realistic and in sync with technology.
3. Stop trying to ignore the Constitution. If you don't like it, work to change it, but stop acting like it doesn't exist. Is the part of the Second Amendment that reads "shall not be infringed" that difficult to comprehend?
4. I think we have somewhere around 35 "Czars" now. What is the cost of hiring all these unknown, unelected, and unconfirmed people to do the same job as the cabinet secretaries are supposed to be doing? We don't need more people doing redundant tasks - we need more effective people who can actually fix something.
5. Why is it OK to raise the minimum wage, which will result in fewer entry level jobs (good timing), and fund countless government entities that produce nothing except bureaucratic red tape, but we can't come up with money for a cost of living adjustment for seniors living on Social Security?
Wet your fingers and put them in the air, members of Congress. Change is coming, but it may not be what you had in mind, and it may affect your career paths.
