Thrift starts in your owm house

Federal law prevents members of Congress from getting full-pay retirement when they leave office. The report says, "By law, the starting amount of a member's retirement annuity may not exceed 80 percent of his or her final salary."

Why don't we - the voters - cut that to 50%?

Ratings for Congress’ overall performance have dipped, but voters are a bit more positive about their local representatives.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just nine percent (9%) of Likely U.S. Voters think Congress is doing a good or excellent job overall, while 63% rate the current Congress poorly. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

As shown in THIS CHART, in 1804 each Representative represented approximately 40 thousand people. Today, the average population of congressional districts is nearly 700 thousand and growing.

Since you don't get the representation that you pay for, you should increase the numbers in the house - by double (at least) and cut the pay in half.

Sign a petition to The United States House of Representatives, The United States Senate, and President Barack Obama titled "Congressional Reform - Reduce Pay and Benefits for Politicians".

It is a START.

Then, limit political contributions to $2,500 for everyone - corporate, union, or private.