Warren Buffett’s recent quote in an interview on CNBC got my attention.  “I could end the deficit in five minutes.  You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3%, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election.”

The same email that introduced Buffett’s quote proposed The Congressional Reform Act of 2011.  It’s contents are seven simple principles.

1. No tenure / no pension  –  a congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.
2. Congress (past, present and future) participates in Social Security – all funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately.  All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.   It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan – just as all Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise – Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPA or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12.

Since it is unlikely that Congress would initiate such legislation, we should think of a constitutional amendment.  It may not be too far-fetched.  The 26th amendment (granting 18 year olds the right to vote) took only 3 months and 8 days to be ratified!  Why?  Simple!  The people demanded it.  That was in 1971…before computers, e-mail and cell phones.

Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took one year or less to become the law of the land, all because of public pressure.

What do you think?

According to a recent study reported in an article by David Kocieniewski in today’s NY Times, 25 top US companies paid more to their leaders in 2010 than they paid to the federal government in taxes.  What’s wrong here?

The companies that include eBay, Boeing, General Electric and Verizon averaged $1.9 billion each in profits.  A variety of shelters, loopholes and tax reduction strategies, however, allowed the companies to average more than $400 million each in tax benefits.   Verizon, which earned $11.9 billion in pretax US profits, received a federal tax refund of $705 million.  The compensation package of the company’s CEO was $18.1 million.  EBay reported pretax profits of $848 million and received a $113 million federal refund.  EBay’s CEO collected a compensation package worth $12.4 million.

A spokesman for the research group that conducted the study, commented: “Instead of sharing responsibility for addressing our nation’s fiscal challenges, corporations are rewarding CEOs for aggressive tax avoidance.”

What’s wrong here in terms of the values that drive certain leaders?  What’s wrong here in terms of shared “sacrifice” for closing the deficit?  Do you think the Congressional committee of 12 will recommend adjustments to this situation as part of their package of recommendations?

The June issue of Ode magazine has an interview with Deepak Chopra on his latest book, The Soul of Leadership.   Several insights jumped off the page.   Here are three for your reflection.

1. The link between spirituality and leadership is palpable.  “A great leader is an agent of change who has clarity of vision and knows how to make that vision a reality.   Such a person comes from a level of core consciousness, which is what we call soul.”
2. Each of us can become a leader if we choose.  Our leadership can affect many people or those who fall within our immediate circles of influence.
3. In addition to being grounded in soul, the key to effective leadership lies in “building careful, caring, compassionate relationships…people want their leaders to offer them hope, trust and stability but also to maximize their own strengths.”

For those of us who are interested in results, Chopra cites studies of worker engagement. 

Data shows that disengaged workers in the U.S. cost about $380 billion a year.  If you and your colleagues ignore someone, that person’s disengagement goes up to about 45 percent.   If you don’t ignore them but criticize them, it falls to 20 percent because people would rather be criticized than ignored.

If you notice their strengths and put them in the right place where they can use their strengths, disengagement falls to less than 1 percent.  So the bottom line is totally dependent on how engaged people are.

A couple of next steps for all of us might be to ask ourselves:  What am I doing to nurture my soul?  Am I leading from my soul?   How well am I engaging those I care most about and those with whom I work?