Like everyone else, I'm horrified by the endless tax and spend mentality in Washington.  *One of* the biggest problems I see is the complete disconnect every politician seems to have with the real world and Joe Average Cititzen.  So I was thinking to myself the other day and said, "Self, what if politicians had to feel the pain of the average person?  Would that make them less likely to 'jump the shark' with the crazy things they vote for and approve?"

So here was my idea - what if the following applied to EVERY POLITICIAN:

1. No pay raises at all during periods of recession or depression


2. A percentage of each politician's salary, equal to the average unemployment rate from the previous year, is automatically deducted and put into the unemployment fund


3. All allowed expenses are cut by a percentage equal to the unemployment rate


4. Every new tax increase, of any kind, automatically applies to every official with no means to avoid or bypass (i.e. if it applies to ANY American, it applies to EVERY lawmaker)


5. Every elected official must serve at least 5 hours of community service per year in office; time spent in community service to be decided by popular vote in their district


6. Any convictions of crime are automatically assigned the highest possible punishment

I'm sure there are more - list your ideas below.

So would this make them re-think their decisions?  Is there a single politician out there who would support this idea?  If not, why would a single person vote to keep a single one of our currently elected officials in office?

The perks they receive make the pay cuts insignificant, but I'm certain no one would agree to them.  We should be asking "why not?".