Amendment: Shutdowns, Debt, and Fiscal Responsibility
- The government does not have any authority to "shut down". Any elected or appointed public official who promotes the idea of shutting down the government is guilty of treason. The government must always be functioning. The government must always meet its obligations on debt.
- Public officials, including and especially constitutional officers, shall not be paid when they are not working, in the same manner as the prevailing practice for professionals across the Union. Benefits, including deferred benefits, shall be no better or worse than the prevailing practice for professionals across the Union. The only exception shall the provision of security protections, which shall be decided solely on the current risk to the safety of the individual and their immediate family, that is caused by their public service. This decision must be made by a non-partisan analyst and include a risk assessment for review in an appropriate forum.
- The government must always have a balanced budget. For each week that a balanced budget is not effective and lawful, a process of decimation shall be in effect. That process shall be that 10% of the pool of all House members, all Senate members, the President, Vice President, and each cabinet secretary shall be randomly selected and their term is immediately ended, such that after ten weeks, the two branches are entirely replaced. Temporary delays may be made only in a time of war as declared by Congress or approval of 3/4 of governors of States.
- The government must maintain fiscal discipline at all times. Public works projects must be paid off within the useful life of the work. Works that cannot be ascribed useful lives (e.g. war) must be paid off within ten years. Any debt that is not paid off within its useful life will result in an assessment to satisfy the debt on all citizens whose income and wealth is in the top 40th percentile. The mechanic of how to apportion among that group shall be a matter of law; but if no law exists, then it shall be an equal distribution across the group.
