1,000 and Counting...

Have your children, or grandchildren, ever celebrated the 100th day of school for the school year?  You know, they have the kids bring in a 100 of something--marshmallows, M & M's, stickers, etc. and then they share them with one another.  They play games based around "100" and celebrate that they have made it that far in the school year.

This past week our government passed the 1,000th day without having a budget.  One thousand days.  No budget. Amazing.  Much of the blame rests with the Senate.  But it really doesn't matter--the fact is the same, our government has operated without a budget for 2.7 years.

Have you ever served on the board at your church, or maybe your local youth softball league or a Boy Scout Troop?  I have.  And you have a budget--and you have to follow the budget.  If you purchase a bottle of glue, it has a category that it is itemized under.  And you had better make sure it is accounted for and tracked.  That is how it works.  Your budget is subject to review by other members of the organization too.

But somehow our government is operating without a budget--without any accountability.

So I have a proposal.  Let's help them celebrate this occasion.  Maybe we could send them 1,000 copies of the United States Constitution for starters.  Or how about 1,000 quotes from our Founding Fathers reminding them of the need for fiscal responsibility in our government?  Oh, and here's an idea.  We could require them to cut 1,000 things from their office budgets.  Something like no commercial airline flights back and forth between their home district and D.C. might be good.  They could all buy Chevy Volts and drive back and forth--or maybe try Greyhound bus transportation.  Or here is one--1,000 days without meeting with a lobbyist to make up for the 1,000 days without showing some fiscal responsibility.  That would serve a duel purpose:  save us some money for pet projects and hold them in check for a while.

Maybe 1,000 phone calls from their constituents would be a good idea too.  The U.S. Capitol Switchboard number is 202-224-3121 just in case you are wondering...