How about members of congress serve voluntarily much like a school board. They must be elected, BUT they are not paid a living salary… maybe a small stipend for when they are in session.
Congress members should be regular people with regular jobs, but show up for congressional meetings. They only receive the stipend if they show up.
Also, if they don’t vote according to what their district of people WANTS, they can be impeached and removed immediately by their people via app.
They are supposed to be mouthpieces, not decision makers.
Congress is most definitely a full time job, especially for the larger counties and states. Congressional members should most definitely be decision makers; they cannot possibly solicit the will of the people on every single issue that comes before them, especially if they’re only working part time.
I just don’t think THAT many decisions should be left up to Congress. People go to work, go shopping, do family things day-to-day for the most part. We dont need brand new laws written every single day.
Congress should have waaaaaay less on their plate and just serve as like a board of directors that checks in once a month and decides: “Hmm, is this a national issue, a state, or a local issue?”
Most things can be handled on a local or state level. If we just follow the CONSTITUTION, the laws are already there. We don’t need all the redundancy and people sitting in a building in their $5000 chairs to make a decision that already exists. It can be a voluntary position…like it was when Congress was first created.
And, if it is treated like a full time position with a large salary, MOST DEFINITELY Congress members should be having local forums at least twice a week in their district getting input from their constituents. It is the will of the people NOT the will of the government. When you just have a boys club hanging out together in one small area, it’s way too easy to pass eachother money under the table and bribe eachother, create laundering schemes disguised as a bill or a “book deal” or a special project.
If Congress members actually had to work with their constituents, they could be held more accountable. I inderstand the public can also try to do shady deals, but I think its a better option.