A U.S. Senator earns $174,0005 — frozen since 2009. The lobbyists outside their office earn five to ten times that. And just 300 households fund 19% of every federal election1. Their checks get heard. Your voice doesn't.
I'm not a politician. I'm a business owner. Here's a one-page fix for what's broken in Washington — written from a paycheck-signer's point of view. Pay them what the job is worth, ban the side payments, cap the big-money megaphone. Four moves. No fine print.
Do you respond to incentives?
Would you work harder if your employer paid you more?
Would it be easier to do the right thing if doing the wrong thing wasn't so financially tempting?
So would they.
That's why this simple bill is so powerful.
See the receiptsFour numbers. Each from a primary source. Each verifiable. Each one explains a little more about why nothing changes — no matter who you vote for.
The names are public record. The pattern is the point. Sorted by 2024 federal political spending — each bar is one household. We're not interested in singling anyone out. We're interested in the shape of the imbalance.
This isn't an indictment of every politician. There are good people in public service today doing their best inside a broken system.
That same system makes their job harder, their integrity more expensive, and their numbers smaller than they should be.
This bill is for them too.
This is not a bill for a political party. It is not a bill for a special interest. It is a bill for the Americans who have never had a lobbyist, never maxed out a donation to a federal candidate, and never had a phone call returned from a congressional office because of who they are.
They are not a fringe. They are the majority of this country. And they have a name.
They sign the front of the check. They carry the risk. They compete on merit every single day against larger competitors who can afford the lobbyists and the PAC donations that shape the rules they all have to play by. They don't have a seat at the table in Washington. This bill is their seat.
Americans who show up, do the work, and depend on a fair, stable, predictable economy that their employers cannot single-handedly create. They work for people who took a chance on them. They deserve a government that takes a chance on them too.
More than half of all Americans live at or below that line — not in poverty, but not insulated either. One bad policy cycle, one corrupt regulatory capture, one Congress bought by an industry they've never heard of — and they feel it. They always feel it first. They are the canary in the coal mine of American governance, and Washington has stopped listening to the canary.
Teachers, nurses, firefighters, police officers, VA hospital staff, public health workers, social workers — who looked at what the private sector was paying and chose service anyway. They took below-market salaries because they believed in what they were doing. They believed in the institution. They deserve a government worthy of that belief. Right now, too often, they don't have one.
They vote at the highest rate of any group in America. They have watched Washington for decades — the promises made, the promises broken, the scandals forgotten, the same arguments recycled every four years while the underlying incentive structure never changes. They are not cynical by nature. They became cynical by experience. And they are still showing up. Every election. That kind of loyalty deserves a government that earns it.
Americans who served this country under conditions most of us will never face, who swore an oath to the Constitution — not to a party, not to a donor, not to a revolving door — and who came home to a government that too often treats them as an afterthought. The shutdown penalty in this bill deposits forfeited congressional salaries directly into the Veterans Emergency Relief Fund, within 72 hours, on the public record, irrevocably. It is a small acknowledgment of a large debt. This bill sees them.
Together, these Americans represent something that no PAC, no bundled donation, and no dark money network can replicate:
A majority. Not of donors. Not of lobbyists. A majority of the country — the one that was always supposed to be running this place.
The Coalition to Return Public Trust is not a membership organization. There are no dues. There is no application. If you have ever signed a paycheck, taught a class, treated a patient, put out a fire, served a tour, or just paid your taxes and wondered why it never seemed to get any better — you are already in it.
All we are asking you to do is show up.
Sixty years ago they paid their public officials competitively and held them to an uncompromising standard.9 The results aren't subtle.
This isn't theoretical. It works.
Take the PledgeEach one independent. Each one passable. All four together — that's the fix. Below: the plain-language version. The full legislative text is one click away.
All personal wealth into a blind trust while serving. No stock picking. No betting on the outcomes they control — no prediction-market or event-contract trading on legislation, war, or regulation they have inside knowledge of. After leaving office: no paid boards or speaking fees for 5/10/15 years (House/Senate/President).
A senator earns $174,000. The lobbyists working the halls outside their office earn five to ten times that. We have built a system where the most talented people have no financial reason to serve — and where the ones who do show up face constant financial pressure to compromise. The blind trust removes the mechanism for profiting from insider access. The cooling-off periods remove the exit ramp. And for the first time, officials cannot bet on prediction markets involving any outcome they control — legislation, military actions, or regulatory decisions. The people who make the decisions cannot secretly profit from them.
$1M House. $2M Senate. $5M President. Your annual share: about $42 (32¢/month). Government shutdown? They forfeit a week's pay per day — and that money goes straight to veterans.
Every forfeited dollar deposits into the Veterans Emergency Relief Fund within 72 hours. Irrevocable. Publicly reported. On day 4 of a shutdown, four weeks of salary has already moved to veterans.3
The American taxpayer is the largest employer on earth. There is no reason private companies should be able to outbid the American taxpayer for the smartest, most charismatic, hardest-working problem solvers in the job market. Every day the government shuts down, every elected official forfeits a week's salary — deposited into the Veterans Emergency Relief Fund within 72 hours. Irrevocably. On day four of a shutdown, four weeks of salary has already moved to veterans. Every reporter in America can check the balance every morning.
Super PACs strictly capped at $50K per individual donor. Dark money banned — every dollar traceable to a real person within 48 hours. $3,000 max per candidate per cycle, period. Willful violations are federal felonies.
300 households gave 19% of all 2024 federal campaign contributions — roughly $3 billion of the $16 billion spent on the election. Their checks get heard. Your voice doesn't. Money isn't speech. Money is volume. The First Amendment guarantees everyone the right to speak — it does not guarantee everyone an equal microphone. The $3,000 cap, the dark money ban, and the Super PAC restrictions together ensure the marketplace of ideas remains one where every American can afford to participate.
Certify as a Small Dollar candidate (no contributions over $250) and the public match activates: $6 of public funds for every $1 raised. Total program cost: less than 0.03% of the federal budget12.
Getting on stage requires early believers willing to take a chance on you before the crowd shows up. Early supporters may contribute up to $25,000 during the exploratory phase — enough to get to Iowa, not enough to own anyone. Once a candidate formally certifies as a Small Dollar candidate, that door closes permanently and the 6-to-1 match activates. This program is designed primarily to make it financially viable for talented Americans who have never held federal office to run for it — and win. Candidates who can win on small dollars don't owe anyone anything when they get there.
Your senators and representatives work for you. Ask them the question on the record. Then ask again. Pre-drafted templates below — copy, paste, send.
