Congressional Reform Act of 2011
1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they’re out of office.
2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women.
Related Reading:
The Senator's WifeOnce again Sue Miller takes us deep into the private lives of women with this mesmerizing portrait of two marriages exposed in all their shame and imperfection, and in their obdurate, unyielding love. The author of the iconic The Good Mother and the best-selling While I Was Gone brings her marvelous gifts to a powerful story of two unconventional women who unexpectedly change each other’s lives.Meri is newly married, pregnant, and standing on the cusp of her life as a wife and mother, recognizing with some terror the gap between reality and expectation. Delia Naughton—wife of the two-term liberal senator Tom Naughton—is Meri’s new neighbor in the adjacent New England town house. Delia’s husband’s chronic infidelity has been an open secret in Washington circles, but despite the complexity of their relationship, the bond between them remains strong. What keeps people together, even in the midst of profound betrayal? How can a journey imperiled by, and sometimes indistinguishable from, compromise and disappointment culminate in healing and grace? Delia and Meri find themselves leading strangely parallel lives, both reckoning with the contours and mysteries of marriage, one refined and abraded by years of complicated intimacy, the other barely begun.
Here are all the things for which Sue Miller has always been beloved—the complexity of experience precisely rendered, the richness of character and emotion, the superb economy of style—fused with an utterly engrossing story that has a great deal to say to women, and men, of all ages.
The American SenatorThis book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
How Congress Works and Why You Should CareHow Congress Works and Why You Should Care is a concise introduction to the functions and vital role of the U.S. Congress by eminent former Congressman Lee H. Hamilton. Drawing on 34 years as a U.S. Representative, Hamilton explains how Congress reflects the diversity of the American people, serves as a forum for finding consensus, and provides balance within the federal government. Addressing widespread public misperceptions, he outlines areas where Congress can work better and ways for citizens to become more engaged in public affairs through their representatives in Washington. How Congress Works and Why You Should Care is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the inner workings of Congress, and how all citizens can participate in its unique mission.
(2010)
Secrets in Plain Sight: Business & Investing Secrets of Warren Buffett, 2011 Edition (eBooks on Investing Series)UPDATED JUNE 2011“Warren Buffett ... is our most successful investor and this book explains why. A great way to start on your path to prosperity.”
– Larry Kudlow, host of The Kudlow Report and Morning Call on CNBC.
“The most insightful analysis of Buffett and Berkshire I’ve ever read.”
– Vitaliy N. Katsenelson, author of the “Little Book on Sideways Markets.”
“An excellent, easy-to-read book that provides insight into how Warren Buffett works his magic. I am buying copies for my kids who are in their 20’s. Might as well start young at understanding how to manage and make money.”
—Kim Wisckol, retired executive, Hewlett-Packard Company.
HOW DID WARREN BUFFETT DO IT?
How did Warren Buffett become the world's richest man? The greatest investor of our times? America's most successful business executive? Jeff Matthews, a 30-year Wall Street veteran and incisive Buffett watcher, travels to the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting each year to unlock the “secrets” behind Buffett’s success as an investor and CEO. Matthews's findings: Buffett’s "secrets" are in plain sight, and 41 of them are in this book, including new secrets uncovered at the April 30, 2011 annual meeting, the most controversial in Berkshire's history thanks to the "Sokol Affair." Secrets include:
SECRET # 9: READ EVERYTHING YOU CAN
This is the first advice Warren Buffett gives to aspiring investors, and he isn’t kidding. “By the age of 10,” he says, “I’d read every book in the Omaha Public Library with the word ‘finance’ in the title, some twice.” Buffett’s reading habits did not stop there: he still reads thousands of financial statements and annual reports each year, and acquaintances who’ve shared rides on NetJets with Buffett report that he’ll chitchat briefly and then start reading from a stack of material. But Buffett doesn’t steer investors toward any particular investment style. Instead, he advises reading everything possible to find the style that suits you. Says the world’s best investor: “If it turns you on, it probably will work for you.”
SECRET #13: BE OPEN-MINDED. YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE YOU WILL FIND OPPORTUNITY.
Buffett originally spurned an opportunity to buy a small California-based boxed chocolate maker in the early 1970s. “I don’t think we want to be in the candy business,” he told the caller. At the time, Berkshire was mainly an insurance company. After looking hard at the numbers, however, and with the encouragement of his California-based business partner, Charlie Munger, Buffett changed his mind and they bought See’s Candies for a mere $25 million. It was one of the greatest acquisitions any company would ever make, and it happened because Warren Buffett was open-minded.
SECRET #15: LOOK FOR LOLLAPALOOZA IDEAS.
Buffett and Munger believe another key to investment success is to assiduously search for a few “lollapalooza” ideas … and when you do find them, make a major commitment. “You really want one that you don’t have to sell,” says Charlie Munger. “Then you can sit on your a__ for 30 years.”
SECRET #30: WORRY ABOUT EVERYTHING—NOBODY ELSE WILL DO IT FOR YOU.
“I don’t want to have the chances of having something go wrong to be slim, I wanna have it be none,” says Warren Buffett. “There’s no way I can assign that to a risk committee.” It is no coincidence that Berkshire Hathaway was one of the few financial companies in the world that required no bailout during the crisis. Says Buffett, “I worry about everything at Berkshire.”
JEFF MATTHEWS OFFERS A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE
Jeff Matthews is not like most Buffett watchers, and this book is not like most Buffett books: it is an easy to read, even-handed evaluation of Warren Buffett’s business and investing acumen by an astute, analytical value-based investment manager. It is also the first and only "updatable" Buffett book.
FREE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR
The 2011 Edition was published in April and updated in June. More updates will be offered free to purchasers of this ebook.
