What if ... terms were limited?
Are you old enough to remember your kids listening to Sesame Street? Kermit the Frog will always hold a very special place in my heart for the memories it stirs of my boys at that age in their lives. But now, the song holds a new meaning when I think of Kermit singing “It’s Not Easy Being Green.” The meaning now comes from my belief it’s not easy being in my 70s and watching adults, elected to provide direction for our nation act like 10-year-olds too selfish to realize they are letting the ice cream melt as they argue over who is going to eat it. The fact that Kermit learned to accept his color and find positive things about it, works better as a lesson for children perhaps than for me.
Age, however, doesn’t keep me from thinking. My credentials as a citizen may not give me the right to write legislation, but it does give me the right to point out some things I disagree with. This is not just a matter of which party one supports, but before this current Washington standoff ends we might be even more divided as a nation of ideologies than political parties. If I could suggest a few changes, they would start with term limits for the Senate and the House, not just the President. A total of 10 years — two fiveyear terms for senators and five two-year terms for representatives or a total of 10 years of combined service. Think about the off-year election of senators when they would be on their own on the ballot, unable to hide in a “party ticket.” Don’t you think that could scare a few of our life-time politicians? If you work out the potential combinations, the Senate races would/ could frustrate attempts by political parties to corner power, not just because of the five years, but what effect it would have following a presidential change. I can hear people finding reasons this won’t work, but think about the possibilities! (It’s not easy just watching the green flow into and out of our nation’s capital.)
Not only would I implement term limits, but I would limit the lobbyist numbers, the amount of money they could spend, and require accountability for their time spent with elected officials. (That idea might get me in the sights of any lobbyist hit men.) If lobbyists were limited in number and a lottery system set up for allocation of time, the elected officials might have time to find out how their “real” constituents feel about legislation. If an elected congressional representative wanted to become a lobbyist, he or she would have to wait a minimum of five years and then enter their name in the lottery for a position, that might send some of them back to their original place of being elected, force them to get back into the workforce and live under some of the rules and regulations they sponsored.
And, finally, while I’m dreaming and lamenting with Kermit, my last move would be to limit the elected person’s retirement benefits — money, healthcare, etc. In an attempt to have citizen legislators, rather then career politicians, forcing them to return to “society” as you and I know it, fewer persons would desire to “settle” in Washington, D.C. Just think of our congressional members living on Social Security and being treated under Medicare.
Sure this sounds outlandish, but just give it a few minutes and at least you will be forced to come up with a few ideas of your own. Besides, you can better understand Kermit’s concern about his color and anticipate how helpless you will feel in your 70s. Something keeps me from accepting the fact that I can’t change anything and therefore should wander out into the woods with Kermit. I keep wondering, ’cause I do. I just can’t accept some things very readily.
Editor’s note: Leo Lynch is an award-winning columnist. He is a native of Benton County has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace. He can be contacted at prtnews@nwaonline.com.