Steve Hoffacker's Sales Quips

Aside from the fact that Congress is severly underworked and overpaid, the don't seem to want to do their jobs at all.

First, they are way too busy to read the measures that they vote on.

Now, with two version of the health care bill in the Senate and 3 in the House, apparently they can't handle this either. Members joked that their staffers would be working all weekend on trying to merge the bills. Their staffers? Since when did we elect them? Who are they?

This is not the government I signed on for.

You take our money during the campaign, and take lobbyists money after elected, and make promises about what you can do, and then you claim that you didn't read the bill you voted on so you think we'll give you a pass and not hold you responsible for what's in it, and now you want to delegate a constitutional power to a staffer that nobody knows to write a bill that you still won't read and that will spend more money than we have - because your idealistic staffers think it's a good idea?

This is what is wrong with Congress - and I don't see it getting fixed with the bunch that's in there now.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Congress wants to spend $550 million to buy 8 jets to replace their aging fleet - which is totally understandable. Can't have those guys flying around on uncomfortable, outdated equipment.

Let's see. There are 535 members of Congress, and this is a $550 million proposed expenditure - I make that at a little better than $1 million per person. Nice little perk - if you can get it.

I've read that it costs something like $3,000 per hour to operate one of these planes, but that is supposed to be cost effective over commercial transportation.

Let's look a little deeper. Having the plane is one thing. Then there's maintenance and fuel. There is a storage hanger and airfield - and landing fees at the other end. There are pilots and mechanics and crew and chefs - and food and beverage. Begins to add up.

So my recommendation is (1) forget the new planes completely, (2) sell the ones you have now and get out of the flying business, (3) fly commercial when you have to travel, and (4) stay home more.

You can't convince me that all of these round the world junkets are necessary.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Congress has an official Code of Ethics that is voluminous and written in so much legalize that loopholes abound. It would be nice if it were reduced to a single page that every voter could have and read - so we would know what to hold them accountable for in terms of conduct.

Then there's the new 2009 unofficial guide.

The principal tenant of it is to let staffers to all their work as far as reading and interpreting what is in a bill. Here's what's wrong with that. It abdication of responsibility and unauthorized delegation of official duties. Congress has but two official duties: read all legislation coming before it (apparently much harder than it would seem) and become totally informed about it before casting and intelligent vote.

That last one is a real stickler. When John McCain and Barack Obama wanted to run for the presidency, they should have resigned their seats. You can't be having a chicken dinner in Des Moines and be in Washington to cast a vote at the same time. Either you are a candidate for another office or you are an elected representative doing your sworn duty.

Then we have the so-called town meetings which usually are way too large to resemble anything that can be called by that name. But the citizens are angry at the shenanigans of the legislators. So what are the elected reps doing? They're no-shows. They cancel the meetings or send a staffer. Cute.

There have to a few people out of 535 who really do get it and do want to serve. Let's see if we can identify those and throw the rest out.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Congress is going on vacation. Let's make make them wish that they had decided to stay in Washington and actually work for their salaries. At town hall meetings or any opportunity we have, let's voice our displeasure in their arrogance and poor performance.

Congress doesn't read anything, so I guess we really can't be shocked that none of them have read Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.

It's quite clear.

Forget health care, government motors, bailouts, stimulus, TARP, social security, medicare, cap and trade, and every other  government program from here to there - whether you like them or not. Congress was never empowered to enact them.

All of these programs are unconstitutional and therefore inappropriate for the federal government to be providing.

Forget the "living Constitution." Article I, Section 8 is quite clear. Whatever is not vested in the Congress in those 17 paragraphs are reserved for the States or the people.

We are a nation of entrepreneurs - first farmers and craftsmen, then merchants and inventors, and now businessmen and women. We thrive on free enterprise, not governmental parenting. Government meddling and market manipulation are threatening our economic system.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Would we sign a sales contract that the customer - or their attorney or Realtor - prepared without reading it? Would we expect them to sign something we prepared without reading it - or at least having us go through it line-by-line and explain it to them? Of course not on both counts.

Why then do we continue to condone and turn a deaf ear to our Members of Congress when they say they can't or won't read a bill before voting on it? It doesn't stop them from voting - just from knowing what is in the bills that they vote on. Some rely on the input of their staff - but we didn't elect their staff and they aren't accountable to us.

If we can demand that we read a contract before signing it - and that our customers do the same, why don't we demand that Members of Congress read a bill before voting on it? The principle is the same.

We can differ with how they vote on a bill, but we must demand that they have read every word in the bill and be able to justify why they do or do not support a piece of legislation - citing speciifc examples from the text of the bill. Otherwise, they should be denied the right to vote on a bill.

We are letting Members of Congress shirk the key duty that they have - representing us. Representing does not mean voting - anyone can push a button. Representing means being knowledgabele about what is coming up for consideration and being able to develop an informed opinion on it - by being intimately familiar with the text of the bills - and not just voting as they are told to by leadership.

For those legislattors who claim that they don't have time to read the bills, maybe we can arrange an extended vacation for them at the next election.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Congress can't read. We can read, but Congress can't. Or maybe they can but choose not to. Same result.

They passed the 1,000+ page stimulus bill without reading it because it had to be acted on in just a couple of days - at least that's what they told us. Funny how less than 10% of that money has been spent so far.

They are considering and possibly voting today on a 1,500-page "cap and trade bill" that promises to ruin America as we know it - and most Americans are against it. It's just many of our illiterate-acting Members of Congress are for it.

A 300-page amendment was added to the bill yesterday.

Think back with me a couple hundred years. Can you imagine how long it would have taken someone in Jefferson's day to write - longhand with a quill pen - 1,000+ pages?

Think back to the monks who spent years copying the Bible longhand. By the way, depending on type size and reference material, a Bible is approximately 1,400-1,500 pages. The "cap and trade bill" roughly approximates the size of a Bible in page count - so how long do you think it might take you to read the bill?

I have a solution. You know how when we download or install software that we have to "agree" to the fine print terms? Well, here's my plan. Before a Member of Congress would be allowed to vote on a bill, they would have to attest - under oath - that they read the entire bill.

This should make the bills a whole lot shorter - maybe just a few pages. This would limit bills to a single issue - this needs to happen also. This would eliminate anyone saying that they hadn't read the bill. Doing so would be perjurious.

If the bill is just to big, too wordy, or too complex for these busy guys and gals to read, then they'll have to write fewer of them or scale them back. The staff people were not elected and should not be relied upon to read the bills that the Members are voting on. That why the Members were hired elected.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Finally, a voice of sanity in the US Senate. Republican Sen. Mike Johanns of Nebraska, and former Governor of that State, has introduced a bill that is co-sponsored by 26 other Republicans in the the Senate to require Congressional approval for any use of TARP funds that would result in government ownership of private businesses through obtaining common or preferred equity stock shares.

He is calling it the "Free Enterprise Amendment." No Democratic Senator  has signed on so far.

As Johanns rightly points out, the President and the Administration are operating unchecked in this arena. In my view, this is contrary to Constitutional provisions.

We certainly don't need more bailouts or public ownership of failing corporations. I've contacted my Senators. Calling on all free marketers to do the same.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com  for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings . © Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.