We can argue all day about whether the failure of the super committee was the fault of the Democrats, Republicans, or both. But Congress made two mistakes even before the failure of the super committee. The first mistake was in not solving the problem themselves. The second mistake was in forming a super committee that was comprised of Democrats and Republicans. They should have created a super committee comprised only of Independents, who by their choice to be Independents have chosen pragmatism and independent thinking over partisanship. Yes, creating such a super committee would be an admission by Congress that the two major parties have a big problem. But we all know that already. On the other hand, if they had passed the buck to Independents, they wouldn’t have to jeopardize their standing with the extremist ideological bases to which Congress has handed over the reins, which are in turn are being used to tie the country up in knots.

In the real world, workers are compensated based upon merit. Good performers get better raises while poor performers get lower raises and are sometimes laid off. Management and salespeople are often compensated based upon meeting specific business goals such as company revenue or profit. People respond to incentives, and companies set up incentives that are based upon a company’s goals.
Members of Congress, on the other hand, are doing the worst job in the history of this country; yet they are being paid sizable salaries just for showing up for work. Members of Congress today do not share the same goals as their employer, we the people. Their goals are to get reelected and to strengthen their own political party. Other than the noble desire to do good for the country, which apparently is not a motivator for today’s Congress, they have little incentive to do what is good for the country.
What I propose is that we cut Congress’s base salary to 50% of its current amount and pay them a portion or all of the additional 50% based upon their ability to meet clearly defined objectives. For example, for every percentage point drop in unemployment, they receive 10%. And for every trillion dollars they eliminate from the deficit, they receive 10%. So if they reduce unemployment by 3% and reduce the deficit by two trillion dollars, they earn a full 50% of their incentive income. That combined with their 50% base salary equals their original salary.
What if they reduce unemployment by 5% and they reduce the deficit by three trillion dollars? Then they come out 30% ahead of their current salary, and I think the American people would be happy to pay the extra.
One might argue that this isn’t fair because each individual member cannot effect change. Each member’s salary would be based upon the actions of the entire Congress. And I argue, that’s exactly the point. Congress is dysfunctional. They vote along party lines and as a result they are accomplishing very little. It’s time that they figure out how to work together for the greater good. And what better way to get them to do it than by paying them based upon their collective accomplishments or lack thereof.
It’s all about carrots and sticks. You try to lead them to do well with a carrot (more money). But if they don’t, you beat them with a stick (pay them less). And if they do badly enough, we vote them out. I personally think we should vote them all out and start from scratch. But since that is unlikely, let’s appeal to their wallets and see what happens.

What if they reduce unemployment by 5% and they reduce the deficit by three trillion dollars. Then they come out 30% ahead of their current salary, and I think the American people would be happy to pay the extra.
One might argue that this isn’t fair because each individual member cannot effect change. Each member’s salary is based upon the actions of the entire Congress. And I argue, that’s exactly the point. Congress is dysfunctional. They vote along party lines and as a result they are accomplishing very little. It’s time that they figured out how to work together for the greater good. And what better way to get them to do it than by paying them based upon their collective accomplishments or lack thereof.
It’s all about carrots and sticks. You try to lead them to do well with a carrot (more money). But if they don’t, you beat them with a stick (pay them less). And if they do badly enough, we vote them out. I personally think we should vote them all out and start from scratch. But since that is unlikely, let’s appeal to their wallets and see what happens.

Your first reaction to the title of this article may be – “what the heck are you talking about?” Or “are you the same person who, a few days before the 2008 election, wrote that it was time to clean House… and Senate?”
Hear me out. al Qaeda wants to destroy America. Congress IS destroying America. al Qaeda attacked us on September 11, 2001, not expecting to kill us all, but to ruin our financial markets. They dragged us into a hugely expensive war. We have a spiraling debt that is far more the fault of an irresponsible Congress than it is the fault of al Qaeda. And without strong, swift action by Congress, that is where we are headed.
al Qaeda is an extremist organization that considers us their enemy, and they are trying to destroy us with their swords. But it turns out that the old adage “the pen is mightier than the sword” is so true. Congress is destroying us with the bills they write and, at the moment, by the bill that they are failing to write. And what is their motive? What is Congress’s reason for wanting to destroy us? Oh yeah, they are pandering to their own extremists and special interest groups in the hopes that they get elected again to do a job whose purpose they have lost sight of long ago – a job that they don’t deserve to hold in the first place.
The members of Congress seem to have forgotten that they serve not only those individuals who vote for them or contribute to their campaigns. They serve the entire country. They are supposed to be doing what is right for the whole, not just do what some fundamentalist, extremist, ideological wing-nuts want them to do.
Who needs enemies like al Qaeda when we have Congress? I hope the pen shows its power when it’s time to go to the ballot box next time. I maintain more than ever that it’s time to clean House… and Senate.