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Given the current quality of elected officials, I have to disagree with you regarding term limits. It appears that a large number of our elected officials are on the take, giving them a limited time to take all they can doesn't serve much of a purpose. I would think it would just up the price they are asking. Thinking would be, "Let's see, I only have four years to take in as much money as I can, so I will sell my vote for a million, rather than the paltry 10K my predecessor got."

That said, I really think a repeal of the 17th would really help out. Make the Senators directly responsible to the State they represent, not the people who paid for their elections. If the state doesn't like what their Senator is doing, yank him out and send someone who will act in the best interests of the state.

"It appears that a large number of our elected officials are on the take, giving them a limited time to take all they can doesn't serve much of a purpose."

My father shares your opinion. I have told my father that it would be cheap at the price to pay each Congressman and each Senator one million a year while they are in office if they would never show up for a vote and only their existing salary if they voted on any issue even once during the entire year. They would all show up and vote. By voting they get to dispense two trillion dollars each and every year under current government spending. Do you have any idea how much power they get to exercise in spending that amount of money? At one million each, it would only cost us 535 million to pay every Senator and every Congressman one million is salary. In contrast to that, through the government they get to spend ten times that amount each and every day.