Carte Blanche: Time to dissolve Congress

Tim Mossholder

The nation finds itself in quite a pickle. That’s a polite way of putting the truth. Congress is deeply divided on partisan and ideological lines, debt is piling up, and societal collapse looms large over nearly every conversation. The world is going through spasms, not because of a great change, but because of a resistance to change. It seems, as Slavoj Žižek once remarked, that the future is canceled. That is to say, we are trapped in a loop of recycling old and bad ideas in the hopes that they will work eventually, with the certainty of someone who doesn’t have to sacrifice anything to make it work. Despair seems to grip every part of life and social media, as everyone bemoans the world on one hand and searches for a way out on the other. If there is any one thing that would do the nation good, it would be the dissolution of Congress as it currently exists. The time has come to try something actually different, and not letting politicians pull the country down while lifting themselves up would be a triumph in human achievement on par with the moon landing and the internet.

As it is currently constituted, Congress has a reelection rate of over 90%. This is not a new trend; historically, both houses have enjoyed incredibly high retention rates. In exchange for this, voters have expected good governance. It has not come. Not only that, members of Congress have gone out of their way to separate themselves from the American people. Currently, 73% of the Senate are millionaires, while only 7% of the US population fits that category. The House of Representatives is filled to the brim with those who have dramatically increased their net worth through stock trading. This is illegal for the average citizen because insider trading laws do not apply to Congress. But hypocrisy is nothing new to the nation's legislative body. In one instance, they voted to release the Epstein files, but overwhelmingly voted against releasing their own dirty laundry of sexual harassment. There is also not a new trend of double standards, but rather an ingrained culture of it that has metastasized into a great and growing tumor draining the United States of the will to live, let alone to try.

The average age of the US is around 39. The average age of Congress is 57 for the House and 64 for the Senate. Over 66 members of the Senate are 60 or older, with 33 members, or a full third, over 70. There are approximately 188 House members over 60, including 74 over 70. Neither economically nor demographically do these elected officials accurately reflect or represent the people they are elected to govern. However, neither is an absolute in the process of leading and safeguarding the country. If the voting record of Congress is a reflection of its values, then how well does it fare there? Poorly. The number of laws passed is the lowest since the 1980s. This, too, might not necessarily mean they are either neglectful or willfully incompetent, as the nation might not need any new laws. When looking at how well they perform the core function of the office, voting, the numbers are nothing to be enthusiastic about. Only 6 members of the House of Representatives have a perfect record of never missing a vote. In the Senate, that number drops to just 4. There are many metrics by which to judge competence or capability, but by those used thus far, Congress has not scored well for a body entrusted with so much responsibility and given so many privileges.

The last metric by which any government can be judged, but most assuredly should be the first, is how well the nation is doing. It’s fair to say America is not doing well, and the road ahead, as it stands today, will be a difficult one. Social Security is bound to run out of money, taxes will have to go up, the dollar will lose more of its value, and conflicts across the world seem more possible than in past decades. Has Congress led us down this path? It most certainly hasn’t helped delay it or avoid it altogether. Multiple administrations have doubled down on destructive foreign policy and divisive domestic policies, all while agreeing on the worst economic policies imaginable for anyone not insanely wealthy or well-connected. This did not result from drastic opposition or a sharp back-and-forth between competing ideas or ideologies, but from doubling down on the prevailing consensus among the few hundred members of Congress, the President, and select government agencies. All while ignoring the concerns and wishes of over 300 million Americans. From taxes and trade tariffs to immigration and energy, the people's well-being is ignored for policy and financial gain. It was ever aimless sleepwalking but a deliberate march in a direction they were convinced would work out, but if it didn’t, they wouldn’t have to worry about it anytime soon.

There should be a call for neither guillotines nor gulags, but for change and for the next generation to take the lead. Congress doesn’t work. It hasn’t in living memory. However, that doesn’t have to be the case. From banning stock trading to term limits, the voters agree that restrictions should be put in place. But we should go further. Reelect no one. Elect new leaders with new ideas, but above all, a commitment to some new form of governing that removes incentives to stay in office at all costs. The system that was bequeathed to us from our forebears was meant as a guide, not an absolute. What was meant to be unchanging and concrete was the rights of the people, not the privileges of the governments. Less than three decades into the new millennium, the inverse has become the standard, not the exception. That can be changed, and it can be done far more rapidly and totally than most believe. All that is required is a commitment to change and not a fear of it. Most of all, not a derision of those who want the country to be a better place. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The path to a better, more representative government begins with one sustained demand for a change. The time for that is now, and the tools have never been more accessible to everyone. Enough is enough; let us go forward and be that change.