What if all political candidates had to do this for one year?

An idea I've had, wanted to run it by you all here.

All candidates a year before they start running - and this is for every single party ever, from A to Z - should be mandated to take 1000.00 usd from their accounts to find a place to live, and go work a min wage job and survive. No 40 hrs a week because not too many get those kinds of brilliant hours. Federally mandated wage of 7.25 an hour, 20 to 25 hrs a week. They will not be allowed to touch their savings in their white collar banks, nor can they ask for monetary aid to dig them out. They MUST - for a year - live by that income, hopefully get sick to the point they need the ER, have to miss work, must have a place to live that ensures rent will take up at least one full check, good luck getting food stamps and so on. Better yet, give them a child to raise. Their own or a grandchild or nephew/niece.
One year.
One measley year.
Walk in your countrymen's shoes.
We do it for a minimum of 18 years.
See how much your ACA will be on your meager salary of about 800 a month. Sure, you may get a second part time job - MINIMUM WAGE, it is all you are allowed.
One measley year.
Then when that year is over, feel free to run for senate, congress, presidency, VP. Have at it. If you refuse to do this, then you may not run.
And when you do get elected to your spot, the moment you start forgetting about that measley year in your life, you get a 4 month refresher course. They'll be others to step in while you take the time to remember wearing our shoes.

That 1000 is usually more than most min wage workers save since they live check to check. You at least get that small 'step up'.

Representing a community should be almost a voluntary job, I'm sure you'd find some decent people if all representatives were paid minimum wage.

I cannot see any politician, anywhere, voting to bring that into law, 'they' don't know where the cheapest shops are, what 2 for 1 is, how to change the oil in their government cars, or how to connect up a battery!
Na., good idea, but, no takers!

reply to post by sarra1833


Brilliant! To add to that...

Make them have to do it within 4 years from the time that they run for any office. Also, make them get reviews by their peers and that peer review published with their bid for office so all can see how they faired. I say this because I can imagine one being a total jerk to their peers, since they come from money.

They have to work a normal job... Mc D's, spend 3 months in the millitary, work as a garbage man, walmart, and any other crappy jobs that the PEOPLE find suitable.

I don't remember seeing (in the Constitution) that our representatives even required a salary, they should not get paid at all.

They are public servants, elected to represent us.

It should be an honor to serve.

But if they must get paid, then they should go on the same scale as military members.

There would be a higher likelihood that you will be the first person to discover rocking-horse poo, or a chicken with teeth.....than EVER seeing a "peoples representative" do the hard slog as you have so eloquently articulated.

Sad, but true.

But, if such a person were to come forward and actually undertake (and legitimately see through) your challenge, that person would have both my vote and my respect.

reply to post by sarra1833


Anyone who had the time to do what you've suggested and is willing to do it is not someone I would want representing me. I don't want someone with a minimum wage mentality representing me. The blame for what we have right now lies squarely on the shoulders of the American people. Instead of asking would be representatives to prostrate themselves before us why not ask would be voters to read a book on Economics, or Ethics, or maybe even take the drastic step of reading the Constitution and the Federalist Papers?

reply to post by sarra1833


They are very aware of the struggles the everyday people go through, they just don't care. So this would do nothing.

What would make a difference is:
1. All candidates must use public money that is equally capped for each candidate. No private donations.

2. Stop all super pacs ,advertising , and private endorsements on private networks. They should be able to use government resources such as government websites,news stations,etc to get their message out with equal time.

3. All candidates must have open discussions with any and all private lobbying industry representatives . No behind closed door meetings.

4. For the next election All candidates can only discuss one issue and how they are going to fix it and or regulate it. The issue is lobbying and the influences that money has taken control of our congress and elected officials.

If you don't fix the lobbying issue than nothing will change, period!!

Why on earth should they do that? If you cannot find a job higher than minimum wage you need to get an education or learn a trade craft. I was making higher than minimum wage before I graduated high school. How is that possible you ask?? Because I was valuable to the deli/meat market I worked at.

The problem with a lot of politicians is that the Candidates are chosen with a criteria that is irrelevant to their job we want them to do. Is he a good family man and does he go to church and did he ever make any mistakes ever in his life that we can use to disqualify him?

There are many good men and women out there that would happily serve in public office if they did not have to submit their lives to ridiculous scrutiny regarding their personal lives that has nothing to do with their job performance.

How many of you out there are good people that would not run for office because of the false moral indignation and judgement you would face?

reply to post by sarra1833


The problem with this is that you are implying that, once in office, our hypothetical representative will (by foregone conclusion) use economic interventionism and the threat of state violence to manipulate worker's wages for the better.

What if that representative, having experienced the rigors of a free market decides to advocate for the removal of interventionist policies realizing that they have created a less productive society and increased general misery?

So the penetrating question: Is that even a possibility to any supporters of this or is that considered ridiculous or even heresy?

reply to post by sarra1833


Love it.

I've often thought that ONLY candidates vetted by a local populace as individuals in the top 5% of humility locally should be allowed to run for any office. And, that a committee of locals should 'conscript' them to run. NO volunteer running for office.

Thx for the thread.

sarra1833
An idea I've had, wanted to run it by you all here.

All candidates a year before they start running - and this is for every single party ever, from A to Z - should be mandated to take 1000.00 usd from their accounts to find a place to live, and go work a min wage job and survive. No 40 hrs a week because not too many get those kinds of brilliant hours. Federally mandated wage of 7.25 an hour, 20 to 25 hrs a week. They will not be allowed to touch their savings in their white collar banks, nor can they ask for monetary aid to dig them out. They MUST - for a year - live by that income, hopefully get sick to the point they need the ER, have to miss work, must have a place to live that ensures rent will take up at least one full check, good luck getting food stamps and so on. Better yet, give them a child to raise. Their own or a grandchild or nephew/niece.
One year.
One measley year.
Walk in your countrymen's shoes.
We do it for a minimum of 18 years.
See how much your ACA will be on your meager salary of about 800 a month. Sure, you may get a second part time job - MINIMUM WAGE, it is all you are allowed.
One measley year.
Then when that year is over, feel free to run for senate, congress, presidency, VP. Have at it. If you refuse to do this, then you may not run.
And when you do get elected to your spot, the moment you start forgetting about that measley year in your life, you get a 4 month refresher course. They'll be others to step in while you take the time to remember wearing our shoes.

That 1000 is usually more than most min wage workers save since they live check to check. You at least get that small 'step up'.

edit on 2-4-2014 by sarra1833 because: (no reason given)

Make them live within their own means, scrubbing toilets? Like if they can't afford Obamacare, they should live without a cell phone or cable tv, or automobile?

You're talking about people who have no concept of what it's like to live within one's own means. "We'll just keep borrowing from the fed because our credit is good enough to allow it?"

What needs to happen is a change to the way these #@!'s are getting elected. For me to vote with confidence, I need an option to enter a no-confidence vote next to each name. After a minimal percentage of no confidence votes a candidate receives, his career ends in a public shunning.

reply to post by loveguy


I'm well aware that there will be no solution to the END TIMES globalist government evils until after the literal Biblical Armageddon.

And at the end of Armageddon ALL such evildoers will be totally wiped off the planet.

The gentle hearted/meek (doesn't mean weak or wimpy) WILL LITERALLY INHERIT THE EARTH.

What a different day that will be.

Still . . . there will be some sort of national government of the diverse nations. That's clear. And based on what sort of criteria? I think humility and loving kindness will be chief among the traits that Christ will be looking for in rulers under Him.

reply to post by sarra1833


I think that it's what they deserve, but it's too unusual to be implemented. And why is it unusual? Because TPTB want you to think it's unusual.

reply to post by sarra1833


You might make things worse, they could be so bitter afterwards that they will justify taking even more than they do now with the thinking if they survived on $250/wk everyone else can too even though inflation has made that $250 able to buy half of what their 250 could.

People who want to become politicians are emotionally damaged control freaks.

Goteborg
reply to post by sarra1833

 

Anyone who had the time to do what you've suggested and is willing to do it is not someone I would want representing me. I don't want someone with a minimum wage mentality representing me.

You do know that most of our politicians are millionaires and above and that they were put into office by those with the most money? Look at the campaign funding and lobbyists. Follow the money. How is that working out for everyone but the top elite?
Does not look like the "Best and Brightest" are running our country very well. Just look at it.

jacobe001
You do know that most of our politicians are millionaires and above and that they were put into office by those with the most money? Look at the campaign funding and lobbyists. Follow the money. How is that working out for everyone but the top elite?
Does not look like the "Best and Brightest" are running our country very well. Just look at it.

I'd much rather have a millionaire represent me than someone who never figured out how to raise himself above minimum standards. You say it's the wealthy who are putting people into office. They're giving a lot of money but they always have. The Parties put people into office, they recruit and vet candidates.

I understand the frustration some people feel regarding Congress in particular and our government in general but in the case of Congress we've got 435 reps in the House all cutting deals for votes and no matter who the individual reps are the end result is going to look like a mess.

In the last 25 years there has been a collapse of local participation in Party functions, my precinct doesn't even hold meetings anymore due to lack of interest and campaign season functions which used to be handled by the precincts are now handled by day labor hired by the Party County Commission. You can blame rich people for acting the way they've always acted but it's the abandonment of participation by the "salt of the Earth" types who you seem to think would fix things that has caused much of our problems today.

Politics is a 24/7/365 endeavor but if the so-called "grassroots" elements don't participate then all influence in the matter shifts to those who are still participating, in this case the wealthy.

reply to post by sarra1833


A year, don't need it. Just a month, that is all you will need. Everyone of these no good politicians up there on their high horse should be made to live on minimum wage for a month. You can't do it. I get sick of hearing all this BS that businesses will have to lay people off lol. Look it doesn't work that way. Watch some of the reports done where they actually went to a business that voluntarily started paying his workers more. He also started paying for healthcare and offered childcare help.

What he found was he actually made more money. It did not cost him more he made more. He found that turn over dropped to zero, productivity shot through the roof. His workers got more done and in shorter time. He was astounded. His company was literally transformed.

This has been repeated everywhere. These people just acting out of greed just don't get it. And let's face it, that is all it is greed.

The story above the gentleman did not have to raise his prices either. The only way we are going to change politics in this country is to amend the constitution so that the supreme court will have to stay out of it.

We need term limits, no more career politicians, two terms and you are done. Constitutional campaign finance rules. No money needed. Free debates, several and free one page news print ads. Hey, you want elected, get on the stump and debate like they use too. No more electoral college vote. It does no work, is corrupt and manipulated and not what the founders intended. From now on popular vote for president. Last, mandate third party. There would have to be equal reps this would ensure they have to compromise.

Change constitution taking power away from supreme court. They are making law and that is not their prevue. They have gotten way out of hand, it is ridiculous. Now even China can contribute millions to buy politicians. What a joke.

Until we do those minimal things nothing will change.

The Bot

reply to post by sarra1833


brilliant, not only before, but after also. cause they had also to feel the consequences of there measures at government.