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The United States has spent the last century in the red. Government spending has been plagued with pork belly spending riders attached to bills that were truly in the public's best interest.

Businesses in America that operate in the red, may only do so for the first seven years. Then, either they must turn a profit or close in bankruptcy. The theory behind the Federal laws enforced in this practice is that a business that is losing money is not paying taxes while receiving benefits of a taxpayer (roads, police protection). Since this type of business is not contributing tax monies, it must close and pay its debts.

In more than 200 years, Congress has never voted against a pay raise for itself. This type of behavior is self-defeating. Congressional income is non-taxable.

Chief Executive Officers (CEO) may not give themselves a pay raise without money in the bank to fund it. Should this be the Congressional case, Congress would be more motivated to make the United States profitable.

Valid spending reform has been brought to Congress in many forms. Each time a spending package comes to the table, Congress has voted against it on the basis that it did not contain enough special interest spending. Separation of spending is the foremost viable reform to spending.

Private corporations pay lobbyists millions of dollars to convince legislators to vote against reform (1/3 of total vote). The current system favors the special interest groups. The ill-conceived belief is that special interest groups cannot garner enough votes of their own to get their legislation passed.

In the event that legislation is single spending, special interest would have to work harder to get enough votes (2/3) to get their bills passed. Clear spending would allow the constituency to understand the components of the massive omnibus spending bills passed today.

Congress must follow through with their spending proposals. The current lack of accountability is astounding. Congress approves funds for government projects, yet makes no inclusion of performance expectations of the projects, singly or in solido. Congress has continued to give money to agencies who routinely overspend, or spend all of their remaining budget in fourth quarter, to prod Congress to increase their budget for the following term.

Businesses, that allot money to a department that overspends, expect that department to account for their failure to be good stewards of the corporate money. This fundamental principle of business applied in the Congressional arena would produce governmental programs that do what is expected within the amounts allotted to them.

Congress is more than 190 years beyond their bankruptcy time constraint, which they passed. It is high time the goose be held to the standards it imposes on the gander.

Learn more about this author, Ann Marie Dwyer.
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