The Revised Plan

Here's a revised form of the plan I proposed to fix this country and make everything right again. And no, it does NOT involve either Barack Obama or John McCain becoming President.

1. All incumbent candidates removed from office.
If we hope to create any change in the political climate of the United States, then those in power must be removed from power. This can take place either abruptly, which is not the best option, or over the course of six years, with elections occurring every two years. What worries me is the fact that two of the Senators running for either President or Vice President this year have been in office as long as or longer than I’ve been alive. Once the incumbents are removed from power true change can begin.

2. A 6-year term limit for all elected officials.
As it stands now, the President may serve for only 8 years, but a Senator or Representative can serve indefinitely. This practice cannot continue. The longer a Senator or Representative maintains an office, the greater the possibility for corruption to grow. By limiting every position in government to one 6-year term, the amount of time for corruption to grow is drastically reduced, and hopefully eliminated.

3. Once you serve your 6 years, you’re out.
This is really quite simple. After you serve your six years, whether as President or as Representative, you’re out of government. You can’t go back. You cannot run for higher office, you cannot run for lower office. Step 3 of the Revised Plan maintains the integrity of Step 1 by removing the possibility of incumbent candidates. Some people have said that you could return to Washington after being gone for a full 6 year term, but I disagree.

4. True Campaign Finance Reform
If you are anything like me, you’re tired of seeing candidates spend millions upon millions of dollars to get elected to a position that will at best pay $500,000 a year. Under the Revised Plan, if a candidate runs for a job that pays $3,500,000, that candidate may only spend $3,499,999.99 on their campaign. The fact that this is not already in practice reveals the corruption rampant in Washington.

5. No more lifetime appointments.
Again, this is simplicity in action. If the people at the local level can be trusted to elect judges, then we should be allowed to elect judges at the Supreme Court level as well. No member of Washington should ever be allowed a lifetime appointment.

6. Repeal the 17th Amendment.
Our nation was assembled as a Union of States. Up until the ratification of the 17th Amendment, the state governments elected Senators and the general populace elected the members of the House of Representatives. Simply put: both the people and the states had representation in Washington. Since the 17th Amendment was ratified, however, the states have had no representation. Repealing the 17th Amendment would be a return to the foundation set up by those who wrote the Constitution and framed our government, as it would once again empower the states.

7. Review the Powers granted by the 10th Amendment.
Government is restrained by the Constitution, not empowered by it. The original design of our Constitutional Republic was elegant in its simplicity. Nine basic powers were granted to the Federal level of government, and everything else became the jurisdiction of the State Governments. Slowly, but steadily, over the last two hundred years, and more prominently in the last seventy years, the powers granted to the States have been whittled away and replaced with more power at the Federal level. Reviewing the 10th Amendment would drastically shift power in this country back to where the founders intended.

8. End Federal Withholding.
An added caveat, but a necessary one. There are two basic schools of thought pertaining to the government’s involvement in the economy. One group thinks that the government spurns the economy; the other group believes that the individual spurns the economy. During the last economic crisis similar in magnitude to the one we are currently dealing with, during the Great Depression and entering WWII, President FDR decided that, in order to further the efforts of our nation to rebound, he would institute federal withholding to get money into government sooner. The belief was the federal withholding would end after the war, but FDR died in office, and his program lives on. One thing stopping the American economy from rebounding is the simple truth that individuals do not have enough money in their pockets. The solution doesn’t come solely from tax cuts, but from the end of federal withholding. Give the money back to the people who earned it.

9. Debate Structure.
One debate. One evening. Town hall style debate. Presidential candidates as well as Vice Presidential candidates would be on hand for the event. Allow the major national networks to bid for the rights to carry the debate.