I’d like to thank the Washington Post for making the case for term limits for me. Thank you Washington Post.
In a recent editorial, the Post talks about yet another railroad bailout that’s in the works in Congress, this one handing out extra goodies to retiring workers, decreasing contributions while increasing benefits. Sponsored by Mr. Entrenched Pork Barreling Career Politician himself, Bud Schuster, the bill among other bad things would allow government planners to invest some $15 billion in the stock market. Instead of putting the retirement system on a stable footing, the bureaucrats are gambling with workers’ savings and our tax dollars. But that’s only part of the problem.
The Post notes that the railroad retirement system has been in the red forever, despite endless subsidies. As the Post says, “You can add the railroads to the list of petitioners . . . for whom the [congressmen] are vying to shovel billions of dollars out the door even as they head home to campaign as economizers.” Good point, Washington Post . Maybe now you can admit that it’s the true-blue citizen legislators like Tom Coburn and Mark Sanford the congressmen who limit their own terms and step down after a short time in power who tend to oppose runaway wasteful spending and look out more for the common good than their own personal political good. Yes, let us know once you realize that to put an end to the antics of career politicians, we need a retirement plan for career politicians.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.