Those of us who sell real estate - of even those who have ever purchased real estate - know that a sales contract of some form (that is often called by various names) is used to spell out the terms and conditions and become a binding, legally enforceable document between the parties.
The recent "Cap and Trade" voting fiasco in the House - the bill is disastrous and needs to be defeated, but I'm only talking about the voting process here - brought to light just how broken the system is.
Take our sales contracts. What happens on every single page? They are initialed by the buyers (and sometimes all parties), signifying that they have been read or that the language has been explained and understood. What happens to line-throughs and changes? They also are initialed and often dated.
So here's the plan. For each piece of legislation proposed, every Member of Congress who intends to vote on the bill or engage in any form of debate on the bill must initial every single page of the bill to attest - under oath - that they have read every word on that page and understand what it means.
What this means is that the bill must be published far enough in advance of debate for every Member to have a copy and read it. It means that not reading it is gone as an excuse or objection. It means that there can be no 11th hour additions of amendments to the bill. Any amendments become part of the same reading and initialing provisions.
This should restore a little responsibilty to the Congress and put the brakes on these rush-to-pass bills. We also can see what they're voting on.
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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. © Steve Hoffacker.
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