Abolish the US Senate

Why does the US allow Wyoming, a state with less than 600 thousand people, have the same power in the Senate as California, which has over 38 million residents?   How is that fair?

It might have seemed a fair compromise between those who wanted proportional representation and democracy and those who wanted to protect state soverignty in a time when America was predominantly rural (the 1780's). Fast forward to 2013, however, where 80% of Americans live in the top 10 cities in America, which in turn happen to lie in the top 10 most populous states.  The Senate is thus clearly controlled by the 20% who live in the rural countryside.  Is it any wonder why farmers and oil men and cattle ranchers and riflemen are getting their way?

I'll spare you the history of the U.S. Constitution and its amendments.  You can research it yourself.   The point is, it's no longer relevant to today's America and it needs to be amended again.   Starting with abolition of this crime against democracy called "the Senate".

Politics: Canada-style

If things keep going the way they are, Canadian politics, normally dry and confined to minor skirmishes in the House of Commons or Queens Park, will rival U.S. politics for colour and excitement.

Two weeks ago, Toronto's mayor, Rob 'Taking-Care-of-Business-As-Usual' Ford, was discovered to have been smoking crack cocaine with drug dealers, and was observed on video with them.   Since then and, as I write this, he has steadfastly refused to step down from office, even as no less than six of his staff have resigned in protest.   Meanwhile, the public wants this guy and his brother, Doug, a Toronto city councillor and former drug dealer, himself, according to the media reports, to step aside.   At Queen's Park, Kathleen Wynne, Ontario's new gay premier, is fuming as she and everybody else watches Canada's biggest city languish in this sordid mess.   The trouble with Ontario is that mayors cannot be impeached.   The province must pass legislation which will allow municipalities to boot out rogue mayors.  Such legislation could take six months or longer to pass in Ontario.

Then there's Canada's Senate scandal.  Yes, a scandal, and every bit worthy of that word.   Mike 'Humpty
Dumpty' Duffy, who looks like he's gained a few more pounds since leaving his CTV news post as political correspondent in Ottawa, now the senator from Ottawa -- or is it PEI?  -- Ooh, I don't know -- was caught cheating on his expense account to the tune of $90,000.   But wait, it gets better.  Duffy, caught red-handed, decided to pay the money back, except that he didn't.   For some reason, the prime minister's office cut a cheque on Duffy's behalf! Time will tell if it came from the Conservative party's considerable war chest or -- gasp! -- from the public purse.

Another senator, Pamela 'I'm-a-Prairie-Girl' Wallin, who, judging from recent pictures of her, looks like she's really let herself go since leaving her CTV media job (that's right: our prime minister decided to poach several former media types to help him get re-elected last election, and guess what, it worked!), was also found to have been in contravention of Senate guidelines on expense accounts and on spending taxpayers' money.  So far, no word yet on how this old bird will make amends and save face at the same time.


Then there's young Patrick Brazeau, the senator from the Kitigan Zibi reserve near Maniwaki, north of Gatineau, Quebec, who has single- handedly demonstrated that even a meathead appointed by the current prime minister can apparently violate a half dozen or so guidelines of of common social etiquette, the Senate or, worse, rules of law, and still continue to steal taxpayers' money.

Brazeau started defrauding Canadians (as far as we know) by declaring an income tax exemption from 2004 until 2008 for living on a reserve.  Trouble was, no one could recall him living on that reserve.  But never mind.  In December of 2008 Prime Minister Stephen Harper still went ahead and appointed Brazeau a senator.

Brazeau was then criticized for accepting the senatorial appointment and for keeping his office as chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) at the same time, meaning he was collecting not just one but two six-figure salaries from Canadian taxpayers.   Under pressure, he resigned his post as chief of CAP.  Nice try, Brazeau!

During Brazeau's tenure at CAP, Health Canada auditors rejected $260,000 in spending claims by CAP executives which had been part of a $473,000 budget of funds provided for aboriginal health programs, courtesy of the federal government and the Canadian taxpayer, when it was discovered that the funds had been used for meetings which had nothing to do with aboriginal health.

And after outing Brazeau on his poor attendance record as a senator (Brazeau had even missed 65% of his own subcommittee's meetings on aboriginal affairs, between June 2011 and April 2012), Canadian Press reporter , Jennifer Ditchburn, was called a "bitch" by Brazeau, on his Twitter feed.

Over the years Brazeau has come under fire for sexual harassment and for allegedly condoning heavy drinking during business hours.

I'm not making this up.  And there's more.

During Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence's hunger strike to get a meeting with the prime minister and the governor general to discuss aboriginal issues, earlier this year, Brazeau apparently saw fit to mock her and to suggest that she even looked like she gained some weight during the hunger strike.  And during the Idle No More movement, Brazeau was openly critical of aboriginals, saying that he felt that many of them simply expected to be supported by Canadian taxpayers.

For someone who spends a lot of time in front of the mirror, one wonders what Brazeau sees when he looks at himself.

In February of this year, sadly, Brazeau stooped to a new low by allegedly beating his girlfriend.  He was arrested at his home, released on $1000 bail and ordered to stay away from her.

But wait, there's more.

Recently it was disclosed that taxpayers footed the bill for Brazeau's attorney when he was being audited for his fraudulent expense claims as a senator.

In 2012 Brazeau challenged Justin Trudeau to a charity boxing match.   Brazeau demonstrated that one needs a brain, in addition to brawn, to win a boxing match, as the slender Trudeau outfoxed him in the ring.   In the end, Brazeau got a bloody nose, an embarrassing defeat and a lesson in boxing strategy from the wily (and fit) Trudeau.

So no one can complain anymore that Canadian politics are boring.  But on a serious note, neither can they claim that Canadians are clean and honest when, clearly, corruption and deplorable behaviour are being tolerated.  And I haven't even mentioned 'robo' calls.

What can be done for now?

For starters, Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne must ensure that the Ontario Provincial Police and the RCMP do their jobs and thoroughly investigate the Ford brothers who, despite their name, seem unfit even to sell used cars, at this stage.  The brothers need to be charged, criminally, and sent to jail, if in fact they are found guilty by a court of law, and thus, they must be found unfit for public office (unless of course Ontario law is so full of loopholes that it allows one to govern from behind bars).   The premier and her party also need to start work on amending provincial law around municipalities.   Citizens deserve the right to be able to impeach their public officials if they are found unfit to govern.

At this point, senators Duffy, Wallin and Brazeau need to tender their resignations and, while they're at it, do the right thing and forego a senator's normal lifetime pension, having served less than four years.   I mean, really, most Canadians don't enjoy such a pension, themselves, and many have no pension plan at all, other than what they might be entitled to under our old age security system.

As to financial controls in the Senate, it would be well advised to institute some oversight into its expense reimbursement system.  It could start by having all senators review the Senate's expense policy and by adding in a little thing called a check, which would catch 99% of junior senators mistakes (because, apparently junior senators make a lot of mistakes).   Before submitting expenses to accounting for reminbursement, the leader of the Senate would have to check over their claims and approve them, just like it's done in most Canadian businesses.   Maybe that way the Senate can avoid getting caught with too many liquid lunches.

Finally, but by no means the last idea for improving Canadian politics: just get rid of the Senate!  When was the last time anyone heard of anything good that came out of this expensive unelected body of geriatric (save for Patrick Brazeau, of course) patronage appointees?

This isn't rocket science if even I can figure it out.

My advice to the opposition parties: if you want to raise your fortunes at the ballot box next election, promise Canadians you'll abolish the Senate.

My advice to Kathleen Wynne: if you want to trump people's memories of the gas plant fiasco your party was responsible for, show the Ford brothers who the new sheriff in town is and kick their asses to the curb -- with compassion, of course.   In the wake of your twin successes of (1) tamping down the conflict with the teachers unions in the province and (2) adroitly brokering a deal with Andrea Horwath's NDP to get a new budget passed, you'll be sailing into the next election with strong momentum behind you.

Meanwhile, who said Canadian politics weren't colourful!

Pay for Performance in Politics

Here's a way to break the logjam in U.S. politics: pay for performance.

The U.S. government can't or, more accurately, won't pass any meaningful legislation, whether the topic is gun control, spending bills, same sex marriage or immigration.   So hit 'em where it hurts: their paycheck.  Pay them only when they pass legislation on important issues such as these.   The rest of the time, don't pay them a cent.

The U.S. government is like a constipated patient that needs a strong laxative.  Withholding compensation until senators and congressmen actually earn it is a good one.

Republicans Gone Wild, Again

John Boehner (pronounced "Bainer", not "Boner") is a good man, an emotional one, even, who cries like a fountain in public over tragic things, and who is a genuine believer in faith and God.   But he is an odd duck, indeed, to be leading his party at a time when the real power mongers within it are fighting like the devil to prevent the government from raising taxes, especially for the upper classes.

The president of the United States and his Democratic party have tried to prevent the massive and callous budget cuts, the so-called sequester, from happening, by negotiating a more intelligent and balanced approach to budget balancing, a combination of smaller cuts and some tax increases.   The Republicans, with spokesperson and House majority leader, Mr. Boehner, will not agree to any tax hikes or revisions to the tax code to close "loopholes".   That's funny because closing loopholes was a key plank in Mitt Romney's campaign to become president.

When you think of crazy politicians gone wild, an obvious example has to be John Boehner and his posse of school-yard bullies, called the Republican party of Washington.

When ordinary people are hurt by the callous budget cuts because Republicans refused to authorize a rise in rich people's taxes, that will certainly give Mr. Boehner something to weep about in church.

 

Congress Passes Limited Spending Cuts; Cliff Averted

No, you're not reading tomorrow's news today.   But I do think President Obama will get his way with Congress and will get a slimmed down version of the draconian spending cuts prescribed under the so-called Fiscal Cliff (Obama Urges Congress to Act to Stave Off Cuts).   Why?

With the trickle of good news -- increased housing starts, lower unemployment, healthy auto sales -- showing signs of sustained momentum, stocks have understandably gone up.  The S&P 500 is up 3.4% year-to-date, and it's only February 5.

Congressmen and senators are getting rich, not just because of their substantial trusts and other "blind" investments, but because many of the companies that support them are actually prospering as the economy picks up steam.  That makes those companies happy.  And happy American businesses return the favor to their representatives.

The strategy to overthrow Obama by obstruction and pig-headed stand-offs has run its course, now that Mr. Obama has been elected president for another term.   Most Republicans have sensibly decided it's time to help juice the markets and make some quick gains for themselves.  And, at the very least, they have decided not to do anything that will hurt stocks.

So they will not take the nation over the Cliff.  They will go along with the president and keep this bull run going.

And that, folks, is how government works.

What America Needs Now

Americans are going over the fiscal cliff.  But all is not lost.  Obama will work out a compromise wherein middle class Americans will not end up paying higher taxes.   This will buy time and good will.  Enough to defuse the automatic spending cuts, perhaps two weeks after they begin.

On a deeper level, what is it about American politics that prevents the winner of the U.S. presidential election and his party from implementing the majority will of the nation?   Why is it that the Republicans can still wield so much power?   The answer is, because America does not have a third party.

The advent of a third political party would mean that Democrats could woo such a party to overcome the rich, white old men of the GOP to effect what a majority of Americans want.

What America needs now is a third political party.

Presidential Campaign Spending

I just read in the Globe and Mail that six billion dollars will have been spent on all the campaigns during the run up to today's U.S. elections (Six Billion Dollar Campaign).  Six BILLION.   And for what?   The presidential campaigns were so fiercely fought, it was like watching a tug of war between two teams of strong men, each huffing and puffing and jockeying to and fro, only to end at a stalemate; with neither side having won a convincing victory.  In the end you could have decided it all with a coin toss.

Six billion dollars is enough to allocate a hundred dollars to each of the bottom 20% of Americans.  That buys a lot of groceries for a family of four, who would get $400; or a pretty decent Christmas.

Instead, that money went primarily to TV ads that will pay media and advertising executive salaries.  The money gets recycled high up in the food chain.   I guess that's okay because most of it came from even higher up the food chain.

But think about it: Wouldn't it be better if all or substantially all of that money could be used to feed the hungry?

Not only does it seem unconscionable that so much money is being wasted on U.S. elections, even more of an issue is that U.S. democracy is being hijacked by big money, the so-called Super PAC's.

Six billion dollars.   With nothing to show for it.   Except, perhaps, a numb if not embittered public that struggles to make sense of it all.   What a waste!