But stop for a second and take a closer look. Top GM chief Richard Wagonner is under enormous pressure to rescue GM from foreign auto dominance. If he doesn't, he's toast. Tom Cruise can laugh at life with his fortune from the movies, but he can't even go into a 7-Eleven for a pack of gum without being mobbed by the unwanted attention of celebrity spotters. Losing your privacy is a horrible nuisance, but that's the price of fame- and it's permanent. Even Author JK Rowling is constantly aggravated. How? Although she's a billionaire, she probably loathes the pressure of those non-stop questions from her fans and the media about when her 8th book is coming out.

And don't even mention the President's job. If you look at the before vs. after pictures of almost any long-serving U.S. president, that's all you need to know. Just picture Franklin Roosevelt in 1932 making his famous "Fear Itself" speech. Then picture him in 1945 at the Yalta Conference. Or picture the Clintons in 1992 at the start of their "co-presidency" vs. today. They are $100 million richer, but they look as if they earned every last penny.

There are few easy jobs any where in the private sector. They all have responsibilities;  they all require effort; and nearly all require one to perform under pressure, be it time pressure, financial pressure, your "boss-is-mean" pressure, whatever. The point is, earning money requires WORKING under pressure. Our jobs are stressful. There's no easy way to get rich...er wait a minute. Did we forget something? What about running for Congress? Has there ever been a case in our nation's history where somebody had to give up Congress because they couldn’t make a living at it? Hmmm...maybe we've got somethin' here.

In all the world, there are only 600 or so jobs that have no definite job description, no requirement to show up everyday, you have the weekends off, most of the summer off, are all part time, there's no boss standing over you, no daily deadlines, they pay you handsomely, have full benefits, and you can earn as much as you want on the side. And best of all, you can never be fired. Can you guess what these jobs are? You are correct. They are the people in the U.S. Congress. Well golly gee, just how do these people manage to have it so good?

When our founding fathers drew up the Constitution, they designed the format of our government in a sort of anti-monarchy fashion, because they practically had to sweat blood to throw off the tyrannical British yoke of King George V. Hence our Constitution contains all the safeguards against excessive taxation, protects property rights, individual freedom rights, and above all, it was designed to be a government OF, BY, and FOR the people.  So now lets flash ahead 220 years and look at the situation today.

Remember when you were a little kid, and you'd learn in school that " America has the highest standard of living in all the world". Didn't you feel proud about that? Everyone fondly remembers "the good ole days". But what about now? What happened? Did our government change? Nope...we still go by the Constitution. Well, did the people change? Nope...we're still  mostly a people of hard-working patriotic Americans. Well then, did the PEOPLE in the GOVERNMENT change? Hmmm, we might have something here.

Lets go back to the good ole days. How was it possible that our country won World War II in the 40's...began building the interstate highway system in the 50's... completed the glorious NASA moon landing mission in the 60's...built the Alaskan pipeline in the 70's...originated the information era boom of the 80's, and was the architect of the tech-internet boom of the 90's?

For sixty years, the United States economy saw growth. Unemployment was stable. We were the envy of the world. People were satisfied with their lives for the most part. Each new generation enjoyed a higher living standard than the one before it.

Nowadays, it almost seems like we're somehow eerily "being paid back" for it all. These are not easy times. The main culprit, our skyrocketing cost of living, has eroded the quality of life for almost everyone. Even super rich people have cut down on their affluence, because no one escapes inflation. Everyone has to eat, and we all have to travel. Everyone is sacrificing in one way or another...oops...everyone that is, except for a certain group of 600 semi-permanent Washington  D.C. residents; and we just happen to know them as Congress.

So who's to blame? The people? Uh-h-h…no! Well, uh--I guess that leaves Washington .

 A lot of people have been forced to lower their standard of living. Many middle-classers are eating like peasants- less meat, more potatoes. People have stopped cable TV, movies, and eating out. Congress has their limos, privately chartered jet flights, and private Senate and House restaurants. They vote themselves pay raises. They pass legislation (ethanol subsidies) that have caused worldwide food riots. And their arrogant self-righteousness is rooted in our tarnished voting tradition: the incumbent re-election factor.

In the Bible, Jesus deplored hypocrites. So what about these 600 congresspeople? Are they at all sharing in any of this misery? Or are they the ones who are most responsible for our high taxes, high gasoline prices, and high food prices? Why don't we ask Nancy Pelosi,  or Harry Reid, or Chuck Schumer, or Ed Markey? Did any of them have to switch to taking the bus to work? Ha! They're all part of the no-drilling congressional bloc causing higher energy prices. But are they even worried in the least about the plight of the people? Oh sure. They know they can manipulate Congress just about any way they choose, because they're the party in power.

But shouldn't they be concerned about re-election if they aren't acting in the best interests of the people? Nope. They're literally ''sentenced'' to life to their congressional jobs. Literally! Unless they die or retire, they'll all probably hold their seats, and go along merrily without any worry of job security. They can't be impeached. They police themselves through Congressional ethics committees ( hardy har), and they can retire on a huge pension.

Since they all have it so tough, that’s why they seem to treat their "jobs" with so much disdain for the country's welfare as a whole. If they can feather their own nest without any reprisal, then more power to them. And do they ever have power! Just ONE person that chairs a certain key committee (like energy) can block the will of an entire majority. Was this ever the intention of our Founders?

Since they're the ones legislating the rules that govern themselves, to whom does Congress answer? John McCain claims he's going to shake up Washington. Great idea. But what could he do....fire Nancy Pelosi for blocking every drilling vote from reaching the House floor? She knows her San Francisco constituents will re-elect her in a landslide this November. This is a travesty upon the intentions of our original Founding Fathers.

The one apparent "mistake" of our Founders is that they failed to ever see the possibility that the people would ever permit anything like this to occur. But since it's almost an aberration of human nature- that people would continue to vote against their own best interests- the Founders cant be blamed . After all, what voter even knows who's running in opposition to these treasonous incumbents nowadays? People pay more attention to celebrity news than politics. Most of the younger people get their main body of political information from Comedy Central. And along with our standard of living, newspaper circulation is falling.

 And when election time rolls around again this November, how will those undecided people probably vote? They'll probably vote for the one who has the "best hair", or against the one "they never heard of". This is the measuring stick of most of today's congressional elections. So until we lift this cloak of ignorance we've placed upon ourselves, we will continue getting the government we deserve.