Rep. Steve Pearce proposes 'virtual' Congress

Started by Solar, May 17, 2017, 05:22:44 AM

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Solar

Bout Damn Time! Time to Pop the DC bubble.

Rep. Steve Pearce, after more than a decade in the House, thinks he knows why people are so unhappy with Congress. Once elected, lawmakers become creatures of Washington and lose touch with the people who sent them there.

To fix it, the New Mexico Republican has proposed a resolution that would let lawmakers work the way millions of others do: remotely.

His resolution, H.Res. 298, encourages the House Administration Committee to explore ways to let members work in a "virtual setting." That would include letting members debate, vote, and even attend hearings while they're home.

"The biggest complaint that exists about Washington is that they seem to be out of touch with the voters," Pearce told the Washington Examiner. "And so, the ultimate impact would be to put us extremely back in touch with our voters."

Instead, he imagines moving around his huge district in New Mexico, and letting voters watch live as he debates and votes in committee or on the floor. Pearce wants to set up huge screens in local auditoriums to let people watch what Congress is doing up close, while their representative is in the room with them.

He thinks the pressure of having real people watch the process live would give members a new perspective.

"If you were facing your constituents rather than the lobbyists, there would be a great accountability that would change the pulse of this place within hours," he said.

For Pearce, there's no reason not to do it. The technology exists, and is already being used in the private sector.

"All kinds of corporate boards meet like this already, and it saves time, saves energy," said Pearce, who logs several hours each week commuting to and from New Mexico.

But convenience is just part of it. The biggest change, Pearce said, would be a stronger connection to real people, and a more distant relationship with lobbyists.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/rep-steve-pearce-proposes-virtual-congress/article/2622648
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topside

An interesting idea. I don't think it's a sure thing ... but worth an attempt.

I've seen it not work so well in the work place, but may work better for Congress. In the workplace, I've read / witnessed that about 10 - 15% of the working population are creatives and motivated to go above-and-beyond in whatever they do - it's intuitive for them to do this as their sense of value is tied to it. The rest (majority of the working population) react to their situation and go with the flow - at work 8 - 5 doing what they're told then clock out. Both are needed - the creatives establish the new ideas and part of the others hit the nail everyday to make the ideas come to fruition. Symbiotic.

But I've seen that when people start working remotely, many / most don't put in as much time. Moreover, communications become very inefficient. Productivity falls while the paychecks stay the same. It makes it harder to have an efficient, vital business. And people are very reluctant to meet in person because they become lazy - don't want to drive for work anywhere. Much more information is passed in-person as opposed to remotely - many intangibles. These are some of the negatives.

Not sure what would happen with Congress. Would they show up less or more? Would they be distracted by other things more or stay on the work they are signed up to do? The post that starts this thread points to some important positives - out of Washington and nearer to the constituents. It would be interesting to select a group to monitor the progress of the remote congressionals and monitor their effectiveness - publish data on their productivity - we should be doing that now. I guess the media is supposed to do it, but it's not working ... too much bias. 

Would the operation of congress get any worse? Could it get any worse?

walkstall

 :thumbsup:

Think of the money and time it would save all around.  It would piss off a lot of staffers and newspaper.     :lol:
A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation.- James Freeman Clarke

Always remember "Feelings Aren't Facts."

supsalemgr

Quote from: walkstall on May 17, 2017, 05:39:12 AM
:thumbsup:

Think of the money and time it would save all around.  It would piss off a lot of staffers and newspaper.     :lol:

Not to mention these fools would not be on TV everyday.
"If you can't run with the big dawgs, stay on the porch!"

Solar

Quote from: topside on May 17, 2017, 05:37:59 AM
An interesting idea. I don't think it's a sure thing ... but worth an attempt.

I've seen it not work so well in the work place, but may work better for Congress. In the workplace, I've read / witnessed that about 10 - 15% of the working population are creatives and motivated to go above-and-beyond in whatever they do - it's intuitive for them to do this as their sense of value is tied to it. The rest (majority of the working population) react to their situation and go with the flow - at work 8 - 5 doing what they're told then clock out. Both are needed - the creatives establish the new ideas and part of the others hit the nail everyday to make the ideas come to fruition. Symbiotic.

But I've seen that when people start working remotely, many / most don't put in as much time. Moreover, communications become very inefficient. Productivity falls while the paychecks stay the same. It makes it harder to have an efficient, vital business. And people are very reluctant to meet in person because they become lazy - don't want to drive for work anywhere. Much more information is passed in-person as opposed to remotely - many intangibles. These are some of the negatives.

Not sure what would happen with Congress. Would they show up less or more? Would they be distracted by other things more or stay on the work they are signed up to do? The post that starts this thread points to some important positives - out of Washington and nearer to the constituents. It would be interesting to select a group to monitor the progress of the remote congressionals and monitor their effectiveness - publish data on their productivity - we should be doing that now. I guess the media is supposed to do it, but it's not working ... too much bias. 

Would the operation of congress get any worse? Could it get any worse?
You overlook one crucial point. When Congress is in session, it generally costs us millions daily, because they're writing laws to screw us as taxpayers.
So every day Congress is out of session, or having trouble holding session, that's money saved.

Show me the latest tax removed or reversed, then compare that to the amount of new taxes written.
Nah, this is an excellent idea, and as Walks pointed out, lobbyists wouldn't have ready access and the people of the home state/district would and the ability to put pressure on these scum every day of the week..
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topside

Quote from: Solar on May 17, 2017, 12:07:40 PM
You overlook one crucial point. When Congress is in session, it generally costs us millions daily, because they're writing laws to screw us as taxpayers.
So every day Congress is out of session, or having trouble holding session, that's money saved.

Show me the latest tax removed or reversed, then compare that to the amount of new taxes written.
Nah, this is an excellent idea, and as Walks pointed out, lobbyists wouldn't have ready access and the people of the home state/district would and the ability to put pressure on these scum every day of the week..

So you're going to let them go hide and still get paid ... a move for them even further toward welfare; giving money away with no return. We need Congress to do their jobs. Maybe put them on commission? Pay them for effective legislation and don't pay them otherwise? 

Let's say you were the CEO of Congress - they all worked for you and you authorized whether they were paid or not. Then they came to you and said they were going to work remotely - to trust that they would do the right thing and be responsible on their own. Would you take them up on that deal? I doubt it. No - if you had control of their income and benefits, you'd probably use the leverage to make them accountable, responsible, and to work and earn their keep by some quantitative measure. And you'd fire some of them ... probably most and would tell their states to send someone else.

To a degree, Trump is the CEO of Congress - he has veto power over any of their laws. He's already pissed off a lot of folks - seems to be boiling over now if you believe what you hear. I don't - I think most will remain loyal to POTUS and honor the position and person chosen by the people. But anyway, I say keep up the pressure on them. Get personnel to start tracking the value added by each Congressman and publishing their contributions by state. What would Schumer or Sheister ... whatever his name ... what would his report card look like? Valued added ... 24 / 7 oppose any progress on any possible front and attacking POTUS continuously. Not doing his job. Should be fired. Even looks like treason from my perspective. Do it - charge Schumer and others with treason for trying to destroy the leadership of our nation ... they have no proof and, last I checked, it's innocent until proven guilty.

I was reading more in Deuteronomy this morning. It was interesting - said that no man should be convicted on the word of one witness. And if a witness is proven false, they should get the punishment that would have gone against the one they falsely testified against. Get's Hammurabi at that point ... eye for eye, tooth for tooth ... etc. It even explains that the reason is that them people would think real hard before doing false accusations. Wish we could institute that in Congress. You falsely accuse the president and of an impeachable offense and it's shown to be a false testimony, then you lose your job ... job for a job.

Your post has spawned another idea. What if you just shut Congress down as being a waste of taxpayer funds. Just sent them back to their states and live with the laws we currently have. Stopped paying them and leave it shut down until they passed one piece of legislation. That legislation / bill / law would be that they would be held accountable and rewarded for producing beneficial legislation according to the Constitution. The reason for the shut down is that Congress will never vote in a law to make themselves accountable - not unless they have something at stake. So, yeah ... let them work remotely but not get paid or get paid.

Or how about this. Treat members of Congress like contractors - work assigned and pay for work accomplished. Sure - go home and work remotely. Have the POTUS's staff's minions assign jobs to them that are required and pay them for their work on the assignment - but for nothing else. Monitor their work and progress on a schedule. Pay them on delivery. Then they can bloviate all they want on non-essentials at their own cost but we only pay for what we need as a country - and not until they produce.

Ok - some of these ideas are out there - just brainstorming. Sometimes when you look at extremes, a tendency that can be addressed reveals itself. But no more out there than sending them to work remotely. The common denominator is that they cost us a LOT of money and they don't deliver the service they were hired for. Sending them home will reduce the cost, but we still won't get the work we need out of them. You've just given up and are trying to minimize the damage and hoping it would get better if they worked remotely in their states - but have little support that it would do no more than cut the cost of when they meet. Is that the best we can get from the bums? The issue is that there is no forcing function to make them perform in their roles. Maintaining the substance of our Republic doesn't seem to be enough. Some do pay lip-service to votes ... but even that isn't enough. No - the leverage has to get more personal and the oversight more punitive for non-performance.  The discussion is certainly a strong case for term limits.

I wonder what would happen if Trump went on offense with Congress. Started evaluating each one as to production and reporting back to states. Also having the government look into their personal dealings and financials. What a grand thought ... I picture a room full of roaches running for cover when the lights come on.  :toungsmile:

Solar

Quote from: topside on May 17, 2017, 04:22:48 PM
So you're going to let them go hide and still get paid ... a move for them even further toward welfare; giving money away with no return. We need Congress to do their jobs. Maybe put them on commission? Pay them for effective legislation and don't pay them otherwise? 
How do you figure? All these scum do all day is meet with lobbyists, do lunch and take bribes. But being back home in public view is that last light these cockroaches want shining on them.

QuoteLet's say you were the CEO of Congress - they all worked for you and you authorized whether they were paid or not. Then they came to you and said they were going to work remotely - to trust that they would do the right thing and be responsible on their own. Would you take them up on that deal? I doubt it. No - if you had control of their income and benefits, you'd probably use the leverage to make them accountable, responsible, and to work and earn their keep by some quantitative measure. And you'd fire some of them ... probably most and would tell their states to send someone else.
No! The people of their district are their boss, the very people that elected them to office, that's their CEO.
But you'd rather they all group together in DC where they are only accessible to big money and not their constituency? Bit backwards, doncha think?

QuoteTo a degree, Trump is the CEO of Congress - he has veto power over any of their laws. He's already pissed off a lot of folks - seems to be boiling over now if you believe what you hear. I don't - I think most will remain loyal to POTUS and honor the position and person chosen by the people. But anyway, I say keep up the pressure on them. Get personnel to start tracking the value added by each Congressman and publishing their contributions by state. What would Schumer or Sheister ... whatever his name ... what would his report card look like? Valued added ... 24 / 7 oppose any progress on any possible front and attacking POTUS continuously. Not doing his job. Should be fired. Even looks like treason from my perspective. Do it - charge Schumer and others with treason for trying to destroy the leadership of our nation ... they have no proof and, last I checked, it's innocent until proven guilty.
You need to drop the business metphor for govt, it is not how govt is run, despite the US being a Capitalist society.
Time for you to take a Civics refresher. Trump is not the CEO of Congress, he is one-third of a Government divided into 3 separate branches of govt.

Executive Branch - President of the United States

Legislative Branch - Congress consists of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Judicial Branch - Supreme Court and the federal courts.

QuoteI was reading more in Deuteronomy this morning. It was interesting - said that no man should be convicted on the word of one witness. And if a witness is proven false, they should get the punishment that would have gone against the one they falsely testified against. Get's Hammurabi at that point ... eye for eye, tooth for tooth ... etc. It even explains that the reason is that them people would think real hard before doing false accusations. Wish we could institute that in Congress. You falsely accuse the president and of an impeachable offense and it's shown to be a false testimony, then you lose your job ... job for a job.
Definitely agree with that.

QuoteYour post has spawned another idea. What if you just shut Congress down as being a waste of taxpayer funds. Just sent them back to their states and live with the laws we currently have. Stopped paying them and leave it shut down until they passed one piece of legislation. That legislation / bill / law would be that they would be held accountable and rewarded for producing beneficial legislation according to the Constitution. The reason for the shut down is that Congress will never vote in a law to make themselves accountable - not unless they have something at stake. So, yeah ... let them work remotely but not get paid or get paid.
It's time to return to a part time Congress, and by part time, 3 months a year unless special session is needed and only perdiem is paid.

QuoteOr how about this. Treat members of Congress like contractors - work assigned and pay for work accomplished. Sure - go home and work remotely. Have the POTUS's staff's minions assign jobs to them that are required and pay them for their work on the assignment - but for nothing else. Monitor their work and progress on a schedule. Pay them on delivery. Then they can bloviate all they want on non-essentials at their own cost but we only pay for what we need as a country - and not until they produce.

Ok - some of these ideas are out there - just brainstorming. Sometimes when you look at extremes, a tendency that can be addressed reveals itself. But no more out there than sending them to work remotely. The common denominator is that they cost us a LOT of money and they don't deliver the service they were hired for. Sending them home will reduce the cost, but we still won't get the work we need out of them. You've just given up and are trying to minimize the damage and hoping it would get better if they worked remotely in their states - but have little support that it would do no more than cut the cost of when they meet. Is that the best we can get from the bums? The issue is that there is no forcing function to make them perform in their roles. Maintaining the substance of our Republic doesn't seem to be enough. Some do pay lip-service to votes ... but even that isn't enough. No - the leverage has to get more personal and the oversight more punitive for non-performance.  The discussion is certainly a strong case for term limits.

I wonder what would happen if Trump went on offense with Congress. Started evaluating each one as to production and reporting back to states. Also having the government look into their personal dealings and financials. What a grand thought ... I picture a room full of roaches running for cover when the lights come on.  :toungsmile:
Think of your wife, kids, and all your neighbors being the boss. Would you rather work at a distant office local, or work from home?
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walkstall

Quote from: Solar on May 17, 2017, 06:21:29 PM
How do you figure? All these scum do all day is meet with lobbyists, do lunch and take bribes. But being back home in public view is that last light these cockroaches want shining on them.
No! The people of their district are their boss, the very people that elected them to office, that's their CEO.
But you'd rather they all group together in DC where they are only accessible to big money and not their constituency? Bit backwards, doncha think?
You need to drop the business metphor for govt, it is not how govt is run, despite the US being a Capitalist society.
Time for you to take a Civics refresher. Trump is not the CEO of Congress, he is one-third of a Government divided into 3 separate branches of govt.

Executive Branch - President of the United States

Legislative Branch - Congress consists of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Judicial Branch - Supreme Court and the federal courts.
Definitely agree with that.

It's time to return to a part time Congress, and by part time, 3 months a year unless special session is needed and only perdiem is paid.
Think of your wife, kids, and all your neighbors being the boss. Would you rather work at a distant office local, or work from home?

Put them in a big glass office so everyone passing by can see what is going on.  No work no pay no medical. 
A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation.- James Freeman Clarke

Always remember "Feelings Aren't Facts."

Cryptic Bert

Never happen because he's right. Too many people get into politics for the gravy train and the DC scene.

topside

Quote from: Solar on May 17, 2017, 06:21:29 PM
No! The people of their district are their boss, the very people that elected them to office, that's their CEO.

It's not a democracy, as you pointed out to me months ago. We elect officials and they are to govern despite what popular opinion is. The only power the constituents really have is their vote. Once in, it seems, Congressmen attempt to show they are looking out for the constituents and work their deals in the background. And Congress acts as a group ... one example are the current Dim lemming phenomena.


QuoteYou need to drop the business metphor for govt, it is not how govt is run, despite the US being a Capitalist society.
Time for you to take a Civics refresher. Trump is not the CEO of Congress, he is one-third of a Government divided into 3 separate branches of govt.

Executive Branch - President of the United States

Legislative Branch - Congress consists of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Judicial Branch - Supreme Court and the federal courts.


Yes - the business metaphors are weak but used in an exploratory manner - what ideas have we seen in practice that could change things for the better. That's actually what this thread is about to a degree. And the separation of powers is understood. But there is overlap ... e.g., POTUS has veto power which means almost final authority on a bill unless Congress can get 2/3 majority. But he doesn't dictate how they get paid ... and that's out-of-bounds with the balance of power. So the CEO isn't POTUS - there is no one to "manage" Congress. It's by design ... right ... because if you put someone over Congress then you wash out the construct for balance of ideas in the House and Senate.

So your point about having the constituents as CEO is an excellent approach but has no more substance than my business ideas ... but could be adjusted. The problem is that the "constituents" only have control over votes and are too amorphous to manage a congressman. But states could select councils to manage their congressman ... and there could be specific reporting to the constituents on the congressman's function that published to the constituents with feedback via internet on occasion. Lot's of ways to effectively manage in that structure. But the method of pay and benefits would need to be controlled by the managing council or the congressman will just continue to play the council and constituents. They need a stick.

QuoteIt's time to return to a part time Congress, and by part time, 3 months a year unless special session is needed and only perdiem is paid.

I actually think Congress has a LOT of work to do right now. If they were functional and not beholden to others, 3 months probably wouldn't be enough right now and special sessions would be a nuisance to getting things through. But in most years, a 3 months a year would seem to suffice with special sessions as needed. I've not known they ever did it that way ... good info! But in the current state of our dysfunctional congress, they may as well go home and save us the funds because they aren't showing an ability to do  anything productive at this point. Such a shame since the Pubs have the helm - could be doing a lot of good right now.

That's what bothers me so much about all this. I had to suck it up under BO's bullshit for eight long years as we were plundered and what we paid was used for Marxist purposes - so, so, depressing. Then I thought we'd get buried under HilLIARy to continue on our path to demise. Then, miraculously, Trump won and there was some hope of turning in a better direction. But, so far, the Dim and MSM attacks and weaknesses in the Pub party have taken the winds out of the sails. I'm becoming despondent as there seems no hope for moving in the right direction for our failing Republic. 

mdgiles

Before we return Congress to a part time job, we'll need to rein in the federal bureaucracy - either that or scatter it from one end of the country to the other - if not they'll end up in control of the country. One thing they must do, is remove from the bureaucracy the ability to make regulations with the standing of law; only Congress - with the President's signature - should make laws.
"LIBERALS: their willful ignorance is rivaled only by their catastrophic stupidity"!

quiller

Quote from: mdgiles on May 18, 2017, 06:00:53 AM
One thing they must do, is remove from the bureaucracy the ability to make regulations with the standing of law; only Congress - with the President's signature - should make laws.

You suggest a bureaucracy ALREADY with nothing to do but cause trouble through partisan intent or sheer boredom. Maybe ingrained stupidity, too, it's often hard to tell.

I suggest before we take away their rice bowl we first take away those feeding from it. We cut 80% of those slugs through enforced buyouts, first. (Never have liked Fifth Column operations such as the current White House staff.)

SkippingWithScissors

I've been a big fan of such an idea for a very long time.

DC is filled with lobbyists and government employees wanting more government, and they all have the same mindset.

Unless there is something going on where they need to be there, keep them in their districts and let them do secure videoconferencing.

Solar

Quote from: SkippingWithScissors on May 18, 2017, 09:13:54 AM
I've been a big fan of such an idea for a very long time.

DC is filled with lobbyists and government employees wanting more government, and they all have the same mindset.

Unless there is something going on where they need to be there, keep them in their districts and let them do secure videoconferencing.
Welcome SWS.
That's the thing, by having them in one centralized location, makes it easy for the big money to have access, it also creates what I call "Bubble Dwellers", people that have completely lost touch with real Americans.
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walkstall

Quote from: Solar on May 18, 2017, 09:23:24 AM
Welcome SWS.
That's the thing, by having them in one centralized location, makes it easy for the big money to have access, it also creates what I call "Bubble Dwellers", people that have completely lost touch with real Americans.

Who knows even the home town newspaper could become popular again.  With out all the MSM BS.
A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation.- James Freeman Clarke

Always remember "Feelings Aren't Facts."