No budget, no pay

When I first read about this story, my reaction was not, "Oh, that's a good idea." My reaction was, "Did we not have a budget previously? How does that even work?"

So I did a little research. The Senate has not approved a budget for the U.S. government for each of the last four years. Wow. Depending on where your beliefs are, it's either the Republicans' fault because they are obstructionist, or is the Democrats' fault because they are not incorporating enough Republican ideas. Either way, it should be shocking to all of us that we don't have a budget. In fact, we have never had a budget while Obama has been president...

Well, to address this issue, two members of the House of Representatives have introduced a bill that requires the Senate to officially pass a budget, or else they won't get paid.

It sounds like a no-brainer idea, right? Remember, though, everybody- we tried this last year :) It didn't get voted in, because who would actually put their salary on the line to ensure job performance? After this past month's shenanigans around the debt ceiling and seeing how Congress just barely got it done with last-minute chaos, I'm not sure that I have the confidence in our leaders to function with that kind of a deadline. I think it would mean that they don't get paid for a while.

And I think that's actually a great idea. While I give the bill little chance of passing, I think it would be an amazing, if a little gimmicky, way for the government to get some begrudging respect from the country.

I know if I thought that Congress was holding itself responsible to do its job I would feel more confident in what they're up to. That sounds like the advice I've given to every student I've ever worked with!

Image courtesy of Talk Radio News Service