SOLUTIONS


There is no need to reinvent the wheel. A large number of ideas on how to rein in our elected officials are available, or at least enough to put a serious crimp in pork barrel and special interest legislation.

*  All legislation and treaties to be voted on by the House and Senate that are to be passed into law or obligations must be read in their entirety on the floor of the House and the Senate by the individual submitting them.

   This would put a stop to treaties like GATT, a document of 22,000 confusing pages. I do not think bad legislation like N.A.F.T.A. should slide through, either. No one would have wanted to read all those pages, or more importantly, explain them to the public in plain, simple, unembellished English.

*  No riders of any kind may be attached to any legislation. All legislation is to pass or fail on its own merit.

The special interest sycophants at the trough will be squealing when cut off.

*  All executive orders are to be read in their entirety by the President to the citizens of the United States on prime time television. The U.S. Senate must then either vote it up or down within 14 days without changes. Again, only one issue per executive order.

*  All executive orders, past, present, and future are to be listed in a readily accessible spot on the Internet, such as www.presidentialexecutiveorders.org.

*  The government must no longer spend more money than it takes in. A minimum of 7 percent of net income to be used paying off principal on the national debt.


These simple solutions (which create accountability) would correct most problems.