The simple fact is that our government is controlled by two parties whose concern for the well-being of the country is secondary to their desire to control power. We all know the saying about how power corrupts; what the two parties seek to do is to dominate the government so that their power (and corruption) will be absolute.  Sadly, we now are closer to this point than any of us care to admit.

But we can do something about it.  Here are my simple proposals:

1. Amend the Constitution to limit members of the House of Representatives to no more than three terms.  More elections for open seats means more competitive elections.

2. Repeal the 17th Amendment, which disenfranchised the States by creating a popular vote for the US Senate. Give this power back to the States as was originally intended by our Founding Fathers.

3. Leave the role of establishing congressional boundaries to the States, but limit the gerrymandering mischief by stipulating that zip codes must be placed in their entirety in one district or another -- no splitting of zip codes.

4. Institute ranked choice voting, so that voters' second and third choices are considered. This will moderate some of the worst excesses of political rhetoric and tamp down some of the hate. It will also give third (and fourth) parties a chance at being more relevant in all elections.

5. Pass legislation that forces former government employees to permanently give up their pensions if they choose to work as a lobbyist. No more trading on access while double-dipping on the taxpayers' dime.

6. Pass legislation to force congressmen, senators, their senior staffs, and senior levels of the executive branch to put their investments in blind trusts during their service to the country, and to prohibit them from trading securities of any kind outside of that blind trust.

7. Cap the salary of congressmen and senators at the current $160,000 per year and prevent them from earning money from outside sources during the tenure of their service.  (All other income apart from the blind trust, whether paid currently or deferred, is prohibited).  Institute a bonus of $160,000 per year for any year in which the House and Senate agree to a budget through regular order and submit it to the president for approval prior to the start of such budget year.  Institute a second bonus of another $160,000 per year for any year in which such budget is balanced according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.