An Open Letter to the President of the United States of America.

Mods if this is in the wrong place please move it.

Mr. President IF you are serious about spurring the economy, Forgive all outstanding debt (Home, Auto, Student, etc. Loans; Back Taxes, not current taxes, back Child Support, again Not current child support) cancel Bank repossessions as the banks have already received their payments through the bailout monies. This alone will spur people to spend to a certain extent, stimulating economic growth (Demand) which will require more production to keep up with demand, which will require hiring more employees and round and round it goes, like a Mobius strip.

As for Government spending:
Bring this idea to the people of this country for a special vote.

Tie all elected officials (from the Chief of Police to the President of the United States) Pay to a multiple of the average pay of their constituents, and eliminate minimum wage.

Chief of Police :>--------------2x the average pay in the city.
Mayor :>----------------------3x the average pay in the city.
State Representative :>-------4x the average pay of their constituents.
State Senator :>--------------4x the average pay of their constituents.
State Governor :>-------------5x the average pay of their constituents.
Vice President :>--------------4x the average pay of their constituents.
President :>-------------------5x the average pay of their constituents.


Ok, ATS members flame away.

reply to post by RedmoonMWC


To be honest, at this point

Forgive all outstanding debt (Home, Auto, Student, etc. Loans; Back Taxes, not current taxes, back Child Support, again Not current child support) cancel Bank repossessions as the banks have already received their payments through the bailout monies.

Your letter is going into the trash bin.

That will collapse everything. Not save it.

In reality, alot of these huge companies that are holding individual citizens debts are in fact themselves in debt to other companies and there is a highly balanced act to ensure things dont come crashing down.

What you propose would effectively push the economy off the balancing wire.

I am not saying our current system is the right one, its just the reality we live in.

people act like the president controls everything.. it is laughable. he is the face of the corporation. nothing more. nothing less.

I think that the pay scale you came up with is too high.

Way too high.

Originally posted by butcherguy
I think that the pay scale you came up with is too high.

Way too high.

Open to suggestions.
Propose another pay scale.

Originally posted by RedmoonMWC

Originally posted by butcherguy
I think that the pay scale you came up with is too high.

Way too high.

Open to suggestions.
Propose another pay scale.

Give them the average starting pay for class 'A' public school teachers. We always hear that teachers choose their profession more often than not for altruistic reasons. I think that politicians should be in office for the same reasons, not for the money.

A new teacher with a bachelor's degree would start at the salary of $32,722 for the nine-month school year.

Starting salary for teachers
Make that the high end, Presidential pay.

When you allow government officials to be paid 4x or even 5x the average pay of Americans, it only distances themselves from what their constituents face on a daily basis. You also end up creating career politicians who are in it just for the money and benefits. If you make the salaries of government officials reflect the average Americans pay, you will get candidates who are not in it for the money, but who actually want to "serve" and pass laws that will benefit the majority of Americans.

Having said that, you would definitely have to remove corporate and special interest groups from using their influence to buy politicians.

reply to post by WeRpeons


My thought was to tie their pay to a multiple of the average of their constituents in order to motivate them to bring businesses into their areas and raise the average wage so they can get a raise. That would be the only wat they could get a raise in pay, no more voting themselves a raise.

Originally posted by WeRpeons
Having said that, you would definitely have to remove corporate and special interest groups from using their influence to buy politicians.

One of the complications in the "dont pay politicians very much" plan is the relative low pay they already get *compared to* many executive positions in private enterprise.
When American politicians sit around a boardroom table discussing the future of that industry, or the various bits of legislation that might be changed, they know they are the lowest paid person in the room.

So... modern American politicians see their career in two parts...
1. Be a politician.
2. Retire and take up a HIGHLY paid position as a lobbyist in the industry they were dealing with.

That second part sets up all sorts of conflicts of interest in the first part.

Whatever plan people come up with, it has to remove the incentive to get the well paid retirement lobbyist job, and let them do the political work on its own merits.

Excusing all debt would not just screw over big corporations, it would screw over average investors as well. It would cripple the economy.

Why get rid of minimum wage?

The pay scale is not a grand idea either. I'm curious to know how much you think elected officials actually make OP, and if you think that it's fair to pay the mayor of a place will horribly low income per person less than a mayor who lives in a place with very high income. The people in low income areas are probably working much harder. Like it or not you have to pay for good people to want to do a job. Some Schmo off the street with great intentions is not going to do as well as someone with a degree and experience and they won't work for free.

Adding to that... With this scenario my local Mayor/Police chief would be making more than the president as my areas average income is incredibly high for the nation.

I appreciate that you care OP, but I don't think these are the answers. I'm not going to pretend I have them, but I don't think these things would work.

reply to post by alfa1


I would also recomend that they are limited to two (2) terms at each level, and no more pay for life, when the terms are up move to the next level or go back to work on the economy you have helped to create.

Originally posted by butcherguy

Originally posted by RedmoonMWC

Originally posted by butcherguy
I think that the pay scale you came up with is too high.

Way too high.

Open to suggestions.
Propose another pay scale.

Give them the average starting pay for class 'A' public school teachers. We always hear that teachers choose their profession more often than not for altruistic reasons. I think that politicians should be in office for the same reasons, not for the money.

A new teacher with a bachelor's degree would start at the salary of $32,722 for the nine-month school year.

Starting salary for teachers
Make that the high end, Presidential pay.

edit on 14-11-2012 by butcherguy because: (no reason given)

''It's a big club, and we're not in it''. - George Carlin

reply to post by alfa1


yes this is a problem, we cannot control what businesses pay their top people but we do not need to match or exceed that pay with our elected officials, they are employees hired to do a job.

reply to post by RedmoonMWC

cancel Bank repossessions as the banks have already received their payments through the bailout monies.

No flame here. Where do the banks get off still billing those that got in trouble with charge cards when the banks got the money from the government, which in turn, is OUR money. Any personal troubles with banks should have been automatically forgiven.

honestly , what does back child support have to do with anything?

Thats the children of the people who have them.........what does that have to do with the gov doll?

I have no problem at all with paying officials a strong wage for their service. IMO it's right and just to do so. Especially a POTUS. Have you ever noticed how they enter office vibrant and healthy looking and then leave, later, looking like walking corpses?

This is worth a high wage IMO.

What irks me is that Congressmen can make that money for their entire lives. That's wrong.

Let them be paid at a premium - but with term limits and an expectation that we demand results in return for their high wages. Maybe even a program that makes much of their income performance based.

~Heff

Originally posted by ManBehindTheMask
honestly , what does back child support have to do with anything?

Thats the children of the people who have them.........what does that have to do with the gov doll?

Back child support (ADC Recovery) does not go to support the children.

reply to post by Hefficide


Precisely Heff, see my reply to post by alfa1

The President has no real powers. He's in for the minimum 4yrs, then gone. The country goes on without him....same fact was mentioned about the President asking if UFO-Aliens are real.

He was told then that "Mr. President? You dont have a need too know!"

It is the continuing government that does. It keep running no matter who gets or loses an election.

And, I agree the letter will end up in the trash.