Here are seven bold steps the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction should take immediately to save billions and salvage what little remains of our faith in Congress:
Instead of raising and spending a projected $8 billion on their 2012 campaigns, all presidential and congressional candidates will agree to donate this money instead to the U.S. Treasury.
The 130 Members of Congress who own stock in Goldman Sachs, BP or Bank of America, whose combined first quarter profits in 2011 were $10 billion, will ask these companies to generously give $30 billion to the Treasury in grateful recognition of all the federal assistance they have received over the years.
Members of Congress, who have received $2.1 billion since 1998 from the pharmaceutical industry, $1.5 billion from the insurance industry, and $900 million from the hospital industry, will secure a $25 billion donation to the Treasury from all three groups in appreciation of the massive profits they've made.
Members of Congress, who have received $1.1 billion since 1998 from the oil & gas industry, will solicit a $20 billion donation to the Treasury from these companies in exchange for not investigating why consumers continue to be gouged at the gas pump.
The 106 members of Congress who own GE stock will recuse themselves from voting on a measure to fairly tax GE, which paid $0 in federal taxes in 2011 on $14.2 billion in profits.
Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Mark Warner (D-VA), as well as Members of Congress Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Jane Harman (D-CA), whose estimated net worth is $1.5 billion, will team up and magnanimously donate $1 billion to help poor Uncle Sam pay his bills.
And last but not least, now that he is retiring, Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) will graciously donate the Milwaukee Bucks, worth approximately $250 million, to the Treasury, where they will be renamed the U.S. Bucks and barnstorm the world, raising much-needed funds for our beleaguered government, which needs all the help it can get.
All campaign data comes from opensecrets.org.