OPINION:
It is time for Congress to live within its means. It won’t be an easy task, but it can be done, and it has to be done in order for us to keep our precious republic.
Over the years, and especially since Sept. 11, 2001, Congress has been on a tear to build a citadel for its own protection, expand the police powers of several agencies and continue to use the American taxpayers to fund their retirement and medical care. Isn’t it about time for them to live a little closer to the system to which the rest of us have been required to adapt?
Congress spends money on studies about duck genitals, why lesbians are fatter than the average American and other nonsense. Then Congress members act as though they didn’t vote for these items. We know that they can’t find the votes to cut spending on everything around them, but maybe it is time for us to force them, as an initial step, to stop some of the spending they lavish on themselves and their staffs. Why can’t they adopt 401(k) retirement accounts, not taxpayer-funded ones, pay for their own medical care, forgo the overuse of limousines and the use of overseas junkets for personal pleasure? Why can’t they live within the means of the taxpayers?
We are almost $18 trillion in debt. Does Congress seem concerned? No. Congressmen should live more like the rest of us. So come November, let’s not just settle for a change in control and leadership. Let’s insist on a change in habits and benefits for our representatives.
DOC WOODS
Sterling, Va.
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