Constitutional Reform

In wake of yesterday's disastrous vote in the House of Representatives, I hereby propose a new constitutional ammendment, aimed at preventing lawmakers from passing unconstitutional laws. Actually, in the interest of full disclosure (something you don't usually find on Capitol Hill),
 this proposed reform is aimed at removing much of the incentive for becoming a career politician, since there are already several constitutional amendments aimed at preventing lawmakers from passing unconstitutional laws, and these have failed due to incentives to do otherwise. This amendment would also have the side-effect of removing incentive for the government to employ people in occupations that normally have salaries greatly exceeding the average salary. The text would read:

"1.  All Senators and members of the House of Representatives shall have their annual compensation capped at an amount not to exceed one-and-a-half times the average (mean) annual compensation in the United States of America. This average compensation is to be determined by factoring in all persons, working or not, 18 years of age and older, residing, legally or illegally, in the United States of America for at least six months of every year, and by excluding all compensation paid to persons less than 18 years of age.

2. The President shall have his or her annual compensation capped at an amount not to exceed two times the average (mean) annual compensation in the United States of America.

3. Any past or present member of  Congress, upon seeking election for any Congressional office term that would begin after 9 years and 364 days of service as a member of Congress had already concluded, must not have a personal net worth exeeding ten times the highest current annual congressional compensation. All wealth in excess of this amount must either be A) given away to an organization not controlled in any way by said past or present member of congress or his or her siblings, spouse, children, or parents, or B) put into a trust fund, from which funds cannot be withdrawn until all congressional service has ended, at which point funds can be withdrawn at an annual rate not to exceed the current annual compensation received by any member of congress, until the trust fund originator perishes, at which time the remaining funds may immediately be distributed amongst his or her heirs.

4. No government employee or non-elected official shall receive a higher annual compensation than any member of congress.

5. Taxpayer-funded retirement plans for Federal employees, officials, and office holders are hereby abolished.

6. Sections (1.) and (2.) shall not apply in any fiscal year in which total Federal government spending is less than five percent of total gross domestic product."

Yes, I have a lot more amendments up my sleeve... now pressure your state and Federal legislators to pass this, or face expulsion!