About Jim C. Welsh
Appendix B1 – Explanations and Reasons for the Proposed the Presidency by the People Amendment
Please see a draft of the proposed 28th US Constitution Amendment for precise details of what it requires following these explanations and reasons which are a simpler overview.
​
​
​
The United States government is a large complex organization; it is multifaceted and performs many different functions. A President is the chief executive officer of it. The United States has many large corporations and other organizations headed by CEOs. Boards of directors of corporations represent owners of the corporations. They recruit and select a professional CEO, the best they can get for their corporations’ objectives, who serves at their pleasure. In making their selection, they weigh, among other things, candidates’ education, training, experience, and record.
​
Congress is composed of representatives of owners, who are its citizens, of the United States government. This Amendment enables Congress to oversee the recruitment and selection of a chief executive officer who will run the United States government. This Amendment eliminates a political election that requires large sums of money for producing expensive media sound bites and other advertisements to select a President. Long ahead of voting, candidates must get the attention of one political party or another. Doing this requires candidates to attract a party’s extreme elements because most other Americans are paying little attention. Those paying attention are zealous elements. Most Americans are not radical and pay little attention to politics years preceding an election. They are busy with work and family. Upon voters entering a voting booth, they find two extreme choices, neither of which they like. They must choose the one that they dislike least.
​
Their choices are career politicians with neither education, training, experience, nor record of accomplishment that would best enable someone to lead a large organization such as the United States government. These candidates owe the monied particular interest individuals and groups that paid for their campaign to get elected. Needing money for their reelection campaign, they must take care of these monied specific interest individuals and groups’ wants and needs at the rest of the country’s expense.
​
The Senate has the responsibility for approving appointments of federal judges. We would get a much more effective executive if we charged our House of Representatives with recruiting and selecting a chief executive officer who served at the people’s representatives’ pleasure.
​
The Founding fathers of the US constitution envision the Electoral College recruiting and selecting a President. The Electoral College has become a mere formality. With mass media becoming more extensive, expensive, and essential, a dollarocracy, instead of democracy, is today the system we have for selecting presidents. The Presidency Amendment would change and improve this ineffective system.
​
​
Recruitment and Selection of President, Vice President, and Cabinet: A President will serve at the House of Representative's pleasure. A Vice president and executive departments’ heads will serve at a President’s pleasure. They must remit to the Federal Government (with limited exceptions) any further other than their in-office and retirement payment. Agreeing to this removes any legal way their in-office actions could enrich them.
​
​
Payment: The 28th United States Constitution Amendment defines a Current Congressional Amount of Pay, CCAP. CCAP is adjusted each year for the cost of living. This Amendment requires the following compensation: President – 250% of CCAP, vice president – 225% of CCAP, heads of executive departments – 200% of CCAP.
​
Upon leaving office, they will receive half plus one-sixteenth per year served in their office, with a maximum of 100% of their in-office percentage of CCAP. Doing eight or more years in office will give them full-in-office payment in retirement. They must be relieved of concern for their own or their family’s material well-being, and it must be criminal to receive other financial benefits. Their decisions and actions should be what they believe would better people—not just themselves.
​
If a current or former a president, vice president, or head of an executive department is found guilty of committing a felony offense while holding their office, they no longer remain in office. Their payment will be 25% of what retirement pay would have been according to the length of time served.
​
In retirement, they may do anything, including any work that they choose. However, the retiree must pay the US Government any payment they receive other than their pension. Such remittances plus any volunteer work they do will offset their retirement cost in part or more.
​
​
Term Limits: Maximums of eight years in any one office and sixteen years in all these offices combined for each individual are the limits.
​
​
Survivor Benefits: This Amendment specifies survivor benefits. For Entitled Spouses, these survivor benefits are 85% of what their spouse would have received if living. Before marrying or their spouse taking office, they can agree that they will pay the US Government any payment; they then will be an Entitled Spouse. Survivor benefit-sharing may accommodate any divorce settlements for ex-Entitled Spouses.
​
​
Succession: The Vice President will succeed the President; if this is impossible, the next eligible person in line holding a federal presidential succession order position will act as President.
​
​
Taxes on Income: As implementers of the law, the President, Vice President, and heads of the executive departments should experience, if possible, all laws’ benefits and burdens, including tax laws. They must pay all required taxes. The US Government will pay all lawful taxes (including state and local taxes) on remittances.
​
​
Enforcement: Congress must enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Passage Time Limit: More recent US Constitution amendments have a seven-year passage time limit clause. Many opposing will try invalidating this Amendment for any reason. Passage of time precedent was followed in this Amendment avoiding a flimsy invalidation excuse.
​
​
Without this Amendment, Congress often blames Presidents for problems; presidents often blame Congress. We, the people, are confused. Who is responsible? Who is accountable? This Amendment defines this. If there is blame for problems addressed with inefficiency or ineffectiveness, it will be Congress's fault. They will set policy, and they can change who is implementing policy if what the Government’s CEO is doing is ineffective.
Please see below a draft of the proposed Presidency Amendment for precise details of what the amendment requires. The above reasons and explanations are a simpler overview.
Appendix B2 – A Presidency by the People Amendment – Ratified after 2084?
Amendment ???: This United States of America Constitution Amendment is for transitioning from electing a President and Vice President. The House of Representatives will recruit and select a President who will serve at the House of Representative's pleasure. A President will choose and hire a Vice President and executive department heads who will serve at a President’s pleasure.
​
1. Recruitment and Selection of President, Vice President, and heads of executive departments: At the last elected President’s end of term, a House of Representatives going forward will recruit and select eligible individuals for President of the United States serving at its pleasure. Selected Presidents will recruit and choose suitable eligible citizens for Vice President and executive department heads serving at a President’s pleasure. After having informed the House of Representatives at least 180 days prior, unless the House of Representatives shortens this duration, a President can create or abolish any executive department.
​
A condition of eligibility for an office of President, Vice President, and heads of executive departments is to sign an agreement. This agreement would stipulate for the rest of their life upon taking office the monetary value of anything they receive they would pay the United States Government as soon as practical. The exceptions are:
​
a) Retirement payment for which they qualified before signing this agreement.
b) Payment described in 2 (Due to a previous agreement, some individuals, e.g., former VARS Congress members, would pay the United States Government the salary they receive for the office they are now taking.),
c) Inheritance, and
​
d) Earnings on their assets kept in blind trusts.
​
The US Government must pay any lawful taxes, including state and local taxes, that would have been due by who paid that amount had they kept it.
​
2. Payment: The President’s in-office payment will be 250% of CCAP as defined in the 28th United States Constitution Amendment. A former President’s payment will be 125% of the CCAP plus 15.625% per year for every year a former President held office, prorated for any partial year, with a total maximum of 250% of CCAP.
​
A Vice President’s in-office payment will be 225% of CCAP. A former Vice President’s payment will be 112.5% of CCAP plus 14.0625% per year for every year a former Vice President held office, prorated for any partial year, with a total maximum of 225% of CCAP.
​
Heads of executive departments’ payments in office will be 200% of CCAP. A former head of an executive department’s payment will be 100% of CCAP plus 12.5% per year for every year a former head of an executive department held office, prorated for any partial year, with a total maximum of 200% of CCAP.
​
If the House of Representatives terminates a President for misfeasance, nonfeasance, or malfeasance, a former President’s payment will be 75% of what it otherwise would have been upon leaving their office. If a President terminates a Vice President or a head of an executive department for misfeasance, nonfeasance, or malfeasance, their payment will be 75% of what it otherwise would have been upon leaving office. If the courts determine a current or former President, Vice President, or head of an executive department is guilty of having committed, while in their office, a felony offense, they will no longer hold that office. Their payment for life will be 25% of their in-office payment. In all these cases, a former officeholder must still pay the United States Government any other income they receive except for those United States Constitution-provided exceptions.
​
3. Term Limits: Appointments by a President or the House of Representatives of the President, Vice President, or head of an executive department have a maximum of eight years. No one may serve in more than one of these offices concurrently. The maximum total time that anyone can fill in these offices in total is sixteen years.
​
4. Survivor Benefits: Before a President, Vice President, or head of an executive department begins their term in office or before marrying, their spouse or intended spouse may choose Spousal Entitlement. A spouse or intended spouse can sign a condition of eligibility agreement in essence as described above necessary for a President, Vice President, or head of an executive department taking their office. If they sign, they would be an Entitled Spouse.
​
Upon the former or current President, Vice President, or head of an executive department’s death, their sole surviving Entitled Spouse would receive for life 85% of the payment which their spouse would receive if they were alive. However, this would decrease by 100% of any divorce settlement amounts paid to any ex-Entitled Spouses. These would continue till any ex-Entitled Spouses dies. The total of these continued payments for the surviving Entitled Spouse and any ex-Entitled Spouses would remain the same, at or below 85% of their spouse's amount if they were alive.
​
5. Succession: If the President is incapable of acting as President, the Vice President will serve as President. If this is impossible, the next eligible federal presidential succession order position, as set by the House of Representatives, will act as President. The President will resume duties when able. However, the House of Representatives can, at any time, designate any eligible individual the President on an interim or a more permanent basis.
​
Federal presidential succession order position holders’ duties will include acting as President if required. While serving as President, their payment will remain the same payment in their original Federal position. And when relieved, they will assume their original Federal role.
​
6. Taxes on Income: All payments received by The President, the Vice President, and all the heads of the executive departments active or retired and their Entitled Spouse or any ex-Entitled Spouses would be taxable income. The United States Government must pay any lawful taxes, including state and local taxes, that would have been due on the remitted income had it been kept and not remitted.
​
7. Enforcement: By appropriate legislation, Congress must enforce the provisions of this article.
​
8. Passage Time Limit: This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as a Constitution Amendment by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission.