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NORWALK, Conn. U.S. Rep. Jim Himes stood in front of about 50 people at a town hall-style meeting Saturday and heard an outpouring of discontent about Congress, inequities in society and Medicare.
The tone was fairly quiet in the Norwalk Community College GenRe Forum, with a mostly friendly crowd heavily dominated by Democrats, most of them much older than Himes, D-4th District. The congressman advertised the session as a way to gather input on federal efforts to create jobs, reduce the deficit and get the economy back on track. Job creation was only touched upon lightly.
"Congress needs to be very aware of the discontent of the American people, not only with their circumstances but with Congress in general," said Mark Rollo of Norwalk, drawing applause. "Congress needs to know this: The American people are fed up with the inequities, the inefficiencies, the corruption. There's more millionaires in Congress now than ever before, and I for one, cannot understand why the first thing that isn't on the list is a discussion on tax reform. Because they need to address the feeling of inequity that is so pervasive, at least in my circle."
"We are more than aware," Himes said. "I come home to Fairfield County. One of my good buddies goes home to Detroit. We are amply aware, and we are in a system where there's too much money sloshing around. The very first thing we did in Congress was about tax reform. HR 101, put forward by the Republican majority, was about the Bush tax cuts. So it was the first thing we talked about. ... The American people across the board feel the system is unfair, and they are right about that."
The topic of the rights of a corporation drew a group discussion briefly, as attendees wondered whether it went back to an 1872 Supreme Court decision regarding railroads and whether a constitutional amendment should be instituted to change the law.
"It's an interesting topic, you can tell there's a lot of interest in it," Himes said. "For those who aren't current on it, Citizens United, a decision by the Supreme Court, was an expansive ruling, well beyond the case on hand, that basically said corporations are people and therefore have First Amendment rights.
Himes disagreed. "Corporations don't get drafted," he said. "Unless you can be drafted, I don't see how you can be subject to the same rights that citizens have. It may take a constitutional amendment. In fact, there are nine senators who have introduced a constitutional amendment and I asked my staff two days ago to see if we can get something going in the House. I regard the permeation of money into the system and by the way, I raise money, so if you want to point at me and judge me for hypocrisy, you are justified in doing it. But I regard it as one of the truly mortal threats to our democratic system. I think Citizens United was an absolute disaster."
The audience applauded.
Suzanne Perlman asked about Medicare. "I am a Medicare provider," she said. "I think Medicare would be OK if, for example, Congress would stop subsidizing Medicare Advantage plans." Himes said a lot of her suggestions "would move the needle" but that Medicare has two fundamental problems: the population is getting older and "the inefficiencies and bizarre characteristics of the health care system in general."
"There are a lot of incentives within the system that make for worst outcomes and more money," he said, adding later that Medicare is a very complicated issue, and it is much easier to tackle Social Security."
After the hour-and-a-half-long meeting, Himes thanked Perlman for the question and said the meeting he held in Monroe was much angrier.
Paul Passarelli thought the crowd was about 70-to-1 Democrat. "I think the house was packed," he said. "I think it was a very convenient turnout of the left and the Democrats. That's why I felt it necessary to show up and to represent the Libertarian point of view."
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