The problem with our leaders in Sacramento and Washington DC

The problem with our politicians in Sacramento and Washington DC is that they are still operating with the mentality of a country amass in wealth. They receive generous wages. According to GovSpot.com, “Members of the House of Representatives and Senate have an annual salary of $169,300. The Speaker of the House earns $217,400 and the Majority and Minority leaders in the House and Senate earn $188,100.” And, this doesn’t include their perks.

With comfortable earnings that equal more than an average American household, how can they possibly be in tune with reality? They were raised during a time of prosperity for our Country. They have been raised with using credit to supplement income. So, why wouldn’t they continue to support the ideals of a country swimming in wealth? The policies that seem most important to them range from environmental concerns to controlling every aspect of our lives.

Have you noticed the commercials on the radio and television? They spew their holier than though advise on everything from setting an example for your children to eating right. It gives me chills just thinking about how Orwellian it is.

At a time when families are struggling to save a way of life they are accustomed to or for some, just to get out of a tent and food line, how can they be so presumptuous? When was the last time they went to the grocery store and had to decide between eggs or milk? Do they notice that the “healthier” choices usually are double the price of the less healthy choice? Have you noticed that cans of half-sized Coke cost more than the full-sized cans? Or how about environmentally sound choices of free-range chicken eggs and organic produce? I cut those out of my food budget long ago.

It is time for the people running this country and our states to realize what families are facing today and change their priorities. Start doing the job that we the voters sent them to do – represent The People. Here are a few suggestions:


- Stop listening to their PACS and funding their pet projects with our tax dollars

- Don’t expand a healthcare system into government control—all one has to do is look at Social Security, MediCal, Medicare as examples of broken policies

- To fix the healthcare system, listen to the experts who advise how to fix the problems without turning it into another government-run disaster—put OUR interests ahead of the Party’s

- Fix your State tax laws: Left-leaning States such as California, New York and New Jersey are living in La-La Land spending tax dollars like a drunken sailor—all that does is encourage those who produce the most to leave the State

- Start encouraging job creation—not by throwing tax dollars into a broken system, but by enacting policies that stimulate job creation and keep industries from leaving the State, along with jobs

People in general, I believe, do not want a hand out—it hurts their pride and makes them feel worthless. People want to take care of their own families by providing a roof over their heads without a fear of losing it from one month to the next. By living in a constant fear of the unknown, how can anyone hope for a recovery with such negative forces influencing people’s decisions day-to-day?

Pelosi, Boxer and Feinstein…will you ever be able to truly represent the common people with such ideals that are meant for a time in our Country’s past when we were more affluent? You should educate yourselves on the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, it’s just logical.

Deanne Hollis-DeGrandpre, Composing America (http://composingamerica.blogspot.com)