My three question litmus test for voting in Congress:
#1 -  Is it Constitutional ?  (must be "Yes")
#2 -  Does it raise the federal debt?  (must be "No")
#3 -  Does it directly benefit the United States or NC's 9th Congressional District? (must be "Yes")

"Every generation or so, there comes an idea that can revolutionize the world.  Today, we’re unveiling that type of idea.  For too many years, money has controlled Washington DC, most of our political leaders are bought and paid for, and those that cannot be bought are marginalized and stuck on obscure committees performing mundane tasks, while Pacs, lobbyists and special interest groups call the shots. We need to get money out of politics, and we need to do it now.

Scripture says    Deut 16:19  a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.   
and
Eccl 7:7-8  …a bribe corrupts the heart.  The end of a matter is better than its beginning,

Many candidates make promises that wind up broken, and this election is too important to risk it on “wishful thinking”  Hopefully in the coming weeks EVERY candidate in this race will sign a document like the one I’m signing today.   I’d rather lose the title of being “unique” and see honor and integrity restored in all our candidates than to be the only one willing to do the right thing.  Time and again I hear people worrying about what happens when we send people off to Congress – and I don’t just hear them, I listened – and most importantly – I acted.

Today I’m signing a Transparency Agreement for Public Servants – TAPS – because it plays taps on the Old School methods of politics.

This five point plan commits me to the following:
1)         Term limits – six years in Congress.
2)         Not hiring friends and family or directing government work their way
3)         Opting out of Congress’s generous health insurance program that they have exclusively for themselves – they opted out of Obamacare – but it’s time for Congress to live under the laws they pass for the rest of us – So I’ll keep my own health insurance and keep paying for it myself.
4)         Opting out of the Congressional pension plan – Our country is SIXTEEN TRILL in DEBT and these people pay themselves lifelong retirement benefits for mismanaging our country.  They were indignant when AIG and other recipients of TARP and the bailouts paid out huge bonuses to companies that were losing money – Well those hypocrites are doing the same thing- they work for an organization that’s deeper in debt than any other country in history yet they keep taking money for the rest of their lives.
5)         To put my money where my mouth is –or perhaps it’s better to say, to leave my money home – go to Washington and serve, and then come back to the private sector to make money – I’m signing an authorization for my finances to be audited for the rest of my life – at the request of any constituent – to prove that I’m going to Washington to serve you and not to get rich. 

Our founding fathers viewed being a representative as a duty and an honor, not a pathway to prosperity.  And I want to follow in their footsteps.
We have a major task ahead of us to limit the federal government to its constitutional role – some have called it a David and Goliath battle – but I know who won that battle and I know that I have the Stones to take down the Giants – I just need the support of the people to go face them in Washington. I was the only candidate to take on the Republican establishment back in October of 2011 and I’m the only candidate to agree to a full transparency agreement with the people of District nine.    The other candidates of convenience were willing to sit on the sidelines – I wasn’t. 
I’m a man of action and a man of my word and if I’m fortunate enough to win the hearts and votes of the people of District nine, it will immediately signal the end of business as usual in Washington.    I can’t guarantee that the right people will win every district, but you can be absolutely sure that I’ll be broadcasting the Transparency Agreement throughout the country – so that other states and districts will hold their representatives to a life of public service and not feathering their own nests.

Thank you all for coming out – I’ll be glad to answer any questions you may have.

Mike Steinberg, Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives (NC-9) will be holding a live press conference Wednesday, April 4, 2012 at 3:00 p.m. in the lobby of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center,  600 East Fourth Street, Charlotte, NC.   In order to restore trust in government, Steinberg will be holding a symbolic signing ceremony of his “Transparency Agreement for Public Servants” (“TAPS”) that binds him to:

1)     term limits (3 terms,  6 years);
2)     rejecting Congressional health insurance – will continue to pay for his own;
3)     not hiring friends or family;
4)     not accepting a government pension – and if it cannot be waived, any proceeds will be put into a trust for Samaritan’s Purse;
5)     a durable Full-Disclosure agreement that allows any constituent to order an audit of his finances annually during the rest of his life to prove that he has not financially benefited from his time in public service.  

This important pact with the constituents assures that Mike Steinberg is going to Congress to serve the country and the people of North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District – and not being viewed as a pathway to prosperity.   Any and all candidates for any elected office are welcomed and encouraged to participate, including those running for the same office as Steinberg (US House, NC-9).   The public and any interested parties are welcome to attend.   Details of the agreement will be made available to the press and to the public after the press conference.   Contact Scott Saunders (704) 996-0929  SSaunders3@carolina.rr.com  or Mike Steinberg (704) 651 3340  MikeForUS2012@yahoo.com  with any questions.

The glimmer of hope is that if fiscally conservative candidates who are committed to limiting the federal government to its Constitutional role prevail in 2012, the economy will dramatically reverse itself and jobs will be created en masse very quickly, thereby providing opportunities for employment for those angry about being “abandoned” by their government. Creating an environment of rugged individualism and personal accountability is exactly the cure for what ails the country; even for those who have been out of work for a long time – whether willfully or not. Eventually, “we” need to “take our medicine.”

This is where the “Tea Party” comes in. Not the “right wing, religious, socially conservative” perception of the Tea Party, but rather a group of Republicans, Democrats and Independents who recognize that the federal government has become the financial equivalent of the 1,000 plus pound person you see on TV once in a while, who has become so fat they cannot even stand, couldn’t fit out the door even if they could stand, and are reliant on relatives to bring them their grotesque number of daily calories.  The IRS are the dutiful servants bringing our tax dollars into the halls of Washington, feeding an insatiable pig that has gotten so obese, so intoxicated with power from having seemingly endless funds and zero accountability that they believe it is their God-given right to live above the laws they pass for the rest of us and mock the Constitution that they were sworn to uphold.

The rule of law has already been sidestepped on many relevant areas (e.g. lobbyists, government spending, illegal immigration, congressional insider trading, etc.).  Children being born in this decade receive a welcoming present of over one hundred thousand dollars of debt, plus the ongoing and ever-increasing expenses of the day to day operation of the government.  These children will have never known a country that was once free and prosperous.

The majority of the middle class in the United States still doesn’t perceive what the future looks like, because no one has ever told them in a manner that they can relate to. The post “Great Depression” generations are in denial and choosing to believe that the current situation is simply an extended downturn in the normal business cycle and therefore are not taking the extreme action to alter the course or prepare for the worse. Many of those who did grow up through the Great Depression are shaking their heads, knowing that they worked hard and saved passionately to provide their children and grandchildren a better life, only to see it squandered. Like Iraq and other countries that we’ve “liberated” that don’t seem to appreciate the incredible gift of freedom that we spent billions of dollars and thousands of our soldiers’ lives to attain, the baby-boomers, Generation’s X, Y and beyond received a gift that most of them don’t respect and certainly didn’t bother to read the owner’s manual on. You can be given a Mercedes or a Lexus, but if you don’t change the oil the engine will seize and the car will be virtually worthless, except as scrap.  Likewise, after World War II the United States enjoyed unprecedented freedom and prosperity. However, the oil that kept it running was hard work, wise decisions and creativity. The “owner’s manual” is our founding documents, most notably the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Patriotism, until the 1960’s, was widely accepted as a virtue, as compared to today’s “progressive” thinkers that rightly believe that all people on earth have intrinsically the same value, but wrongly believe that everyone has an equal right to the American dream without having to go through the rigors of establishing a representative republic and its accompanying responsibilities. While business has become global for most industries, we need to understand that it is still a competition – complete with winners and losers – and that to enjoy the freedom and benefits that define our country we need to be the winner.

Been screaming about the "Payroll Tax Cut" all week - it's amazing how they're sliding this through.  Where the heck is AARP and why aren't they going ballistic and running ads urging people to call Congress???  This is insanity.  "Tax Cheatin' Timmy" (Timothy Geithner) writes last years Report on Social Security warning everyone that things are much worse for Social Security than we had anticipated and insists that legislative action is needed to fix the problem "sooner rather than later". 
President Obama's response?   REDUCE THE INFLOWS into Social Security.  Brilliant.   And the weak willed Republicans lead by their non-leader John Boehner supported it.  Blew the opportunity to stand up (oh, sorry, that would require a backbone now I understand) for senior citizens and finally END the argument about who's trying to destroy Social Security.  Republicans could have locked up Florida for the next 20 years - instead they capitulated and now it's both parties screwing the elderly.

They could have lowered the marginal (bracket) rates (i.e. 33%, 28% 15%) by 2% and had the same net effect for workers, but then that money would've come out of the General Fund ("On Budget") instead of the Social Security Trust Fund ("Off Budget").

I'm beginning to understand why the establishment GOP doesn't want me in Washington. Because I will kick their asses over horrible policy like this and shout it from the rooftops to shame them into doing the right thing if I have to.

Yesterday Rep. Sue Myrick announced that she is not seeking re-election.  I wish her the best in retirement and thank her for her years of service on behalf of our country and District 9.    The most common question that I've been asked is how I feel about her decision.  My feelings really haven't changed at all.  The solutions that I bring to the table are still the ones that are needed to restore the United States of America to its position of global prominence.   The major issues:   Reducing the government debt, reducing regulations, limiting the scope of government to its Constitutional role, scrapping the current taxation system and replacing it with a Flat Tax,  maintaining a strong military and recognizing the rights of the unborn are protected by the Constitution; all of these are essential and non-negotiable, and certainly don't change based on th