Posie, in about three weeks, the whole darned country may be joining Minnesota! What will it take for our elected officials to do what we elected them to do? I keep getting emails about an amendment to the Constitution--#28, I think--in which it states that "Congress shall make no laws that apply to the citizens of the United States that do not apply in equal measure to them, and also Congress shall make no laws that apply to them that do not apply to citizens of the United States."

I may have a word or two incorrect, but that's the gist of it. It sounds like a pretty good idea to me.

What on earth is going on with the US? It used to be a "go for it" country. I just loved that aspect and went for the "American Dream". I got my american dream by working very hard, both by working 9to5, overtime and investing in US saving bonds, real estate etc. These days it seems to be the country of "no".
How can you invest in a country that says "no" "no" etc...

I am REALLY WORRIED about our country. The budget deficit is like a huge bill stamped "Past Due" and it's lying in all of our mailboxes. We've got to start paying it down.

I'd like to see a new reality show on TV that takes a very rich family and makes them live a middle class lifestyle for a year. The money saved would be given to local education, human services, or public works.

Greed is NOT good.

Every time I hear of a group (especially if it's legislative) that can't agree on budgetary matters, I am reminded of a story I read many years ago. Unfortunately, I no longer recall author or title. In short, the governing body of a small town had to choose between two desirable ways to spend the excess town budget and the members favored one or the other, but neither in majority. The kicker was that whenever the town council couldn't come to an agreement in a reasonable time [I think it was three days], the members were locked into a room furnished only with a table and wooden stools. They were given bread, water, and access to a bathroom, but otherwise had contact with no one until the entire committee came to a consensus.

At the time I first read the story, I couldn't decide if that was a truly viable way to compel attention to duty, and I'm still not sure, but... don't you wonder how fast a consensual decision could be made if today's committees had both distractions (phones, TV, newspapers) and luxuries (coffee, large meals, comfortable chairs) curtailed?

President Obama said in a news conference that he could not guarantee that SS checks would be mailed out in August, unless the debt ceiling was raised. Can you imagine how that would affect the senior population?

I wish it were more common knowledge how much the government spends on "overhead" expenses. We the people, who are funding this government, are entitled to know if it's being run cost-effectively.

Is the American federal government "too big" to be scrutinized in this way?