Are we truly united or are we divided?  I’m confused, are you?  Why is that we only have two parties?  Why is it that each of these parties doesn’t speak the same language?  Why is it that they don’t have the same agenda?  An agenda that should be united in equality for all Americans.

I want a team called the Republicrats!  You see, a team works together for the good of everyone.  A party is a gathering where each person does what makes them happy, and that’s what we have now “A Party”.  Our government is having a party at our expense.  No one in either party is suffering.  None of them are lacking.  None of them ever vote to have the same benefits or pay, or should I say lack of benefits or pay that the majority of Americans have, or do not have.

I’m also tired of the lies, both by those for and against our system.  We need to stop the exaggerations and outright lies to make a case.  So here are some facts about what the House and Senate receive.  There are 535 members of Congress: 100 Senators and 435 Representatives.  The District of Columbia has one non-voting Delegate in the House of Representatives.

The current salary (2011) for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $174,000 per year.  Members of Congress receive retirement and health benefits under the same plans available to other federal employees.  They become vested after five years of full participation.  You may have read that Members of Congress do not pay into Social Security.  Well, that’s a myth.

Prior to 1984, neither Members of Congress nor any other federal civil service employee paid Social Security taxes.  Of course, they were also not eligible to receive Social Security benefits.  Members of Congress and other federal employees were instead covered by a separate pension plan called the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS).  The 1983 amendments to the Social Security Act required federal employees first hired after 1983 to participate in Social Security.  These amendments also required all Members of Congress to participate in Social Security as of January 1, 1984, regardless of when they first entered Congress.  Because the CSRS was not designed to coordinate with Social Security, Congress directed the development of a new retirement plan for federal workers.  The result was the Federal Employees’ Retirement System Act of 1986.

Members elected since 1984 are covered by the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS).  Those elected prior to 1984 were covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). In 1984 all members were given the option of remaining with CSRS or switching to FERS.

According to the Congressional Research Service, 413 retired Members of Congress were receiving federal pensions based fully or in part on their congressional service as of Oct. 1, 2006.  Of this number, 290 had retired under CSRS and were receiving an average annual pension of $60,972.  A total of 123 Members had retired with service under both CSRS and FERS or with service under FERS only. Their average annual pension was $35,952 in 2006.

Okay now that we have some “Factual” information what do we do with it?  First we may want to consider that no one in Congress serve more than 4 years.  This eliminates any government retirement spending.  Next we consider eliminating the number of Congressmen we believe we need.  We do not need to pay and support 535 elected officials, who do not have our best interests at hand and can’t ever agree.  Perhaps fewer people will have the ability to come to an agreement.

Let’s begin with having only one Senator per state and maximum of four Representatives per state based on percentage of total population of the U.S.  This would eliminate 285 positions, saving an average of $50 million in salaries.  We could also eliminate an average annual pension of those eliminated positions of $36,000 a year each for a total of $10 million a year.  Then there are other additional benefits and support they receive for health plans, expenses for travel, administrative staff, and office, and more that I am not going to research or elaborate now.  I’m guessing that these additional costs could be another $50 million a year.  So what could we save, by my modest calculations, more than $100 million a year.

Let’s also realize that many of those in government office are out for themselves.  They have huge egos and spend an inordinate amount of time campaigning.  Most don’t read, or have time to read, all the bills put forward each year, many unnecessary, and many mired in legalese that no one understands.  And there is no real plan that I can see.  Typically what is being done is to fix the mistakes they made.  As we can see any corporation that is managed the way government is managed, or should I say mismanaged, would be out of business.  Which we are if it weren’t for the fact that we can print the money we need.  How ludicrous is that?

So don’t you think it’s time to form another team, not a party, for the people, for US!  It is proven that with a combination of people from diverse backgrounds and diverse education, abilities, ages and levels of income we can come up with a plan that works better than anything we presently have or will ever get based on history and the lack of our present representatives willing to cooperate.

All you Republicrats out there take a stand.  Who is with me to create a REPUBLICRAT website and a logo to match?  Let’s make the changes necessary to get back to basics and manage this country with compassion and love for all, and of course be fiscally responsible.

Contact me at arthurjames@TheCoffeeHouseCoach.com for a United America.