To: All of us as participatants in American democracy, not American Empire

The Elephant and the Donkey in the Living Room

Stop the excesses of government as empire. Four year term limit for representatives, period. Retirement benefits---social security and medicare. Taxes, progressive with the wealthy playing at a higher rate than the middle class. No loopholes to drive your Hummer through.

Why is this important?

Karl Menninger said an accurate diagnosis can greatly enhance a cure. We need a cure, but few are suggesting the diagnosis. We all are greedy beyond bounds. The crime of hoarding is not a crime until you are caught. The crime of huge bonuses, unseemly pensions, fraudulent practices leading to personal ruin are rampant. A beginning would be a combination of Bill Daley and Warren Buffett's amendments---a four-year term limit for representatives,period, and then to receive social security and medicare as a benefit, no consulting or working for corporations with which you wrote legislation. The income tax code would be rewritten to reflect a concern for the human infrastructure and the communal infrastructure.