by blogbits on Oct.01, 2009, under American Politics
It is ‘We the People’ After all
So how do we begin to get a handle on government? I’ve come up with a short list that might get things moving again and eliminate some of the issues that have more to do with human nature and people with a little power, than anything else.
First, we need term limits. Six years should be about right and then that’s it. Public service should be just that — public service. It should not be a career choice that provides a multitude of opportunities for bad behavior fueled by delusions of grandeur and entitlement syndrome. This is how the special interest groups and lobbyists are able to weld so much power. If they get someone in their pocket early in their political career the voices of that politician’s constituents gets lost in the noise.
Second, taxes that were instituted for specific reasons should be fenced to preclude mismanagement on the part of elected officials. The ability to rob Peter to pay Paul might make Paul happy, but it also leads to financial fiascos and blown budgets.
Third, let people vote with their tax money. When individuals file their income taxes they could designate where they want that money spent. Of course, the categories would have to be broad — national defense, social services, transportation infrastructure, education, health care and so on — but it would allow people to put their money where their mouths are. Once the tax returns were processed, the governments would have to set its budget accordingly. This would be another way to take lobbyist and special interests out of the equation. If they want to push their agendas, they would have to spread their money far and wide to educate and persuade the public instead of lining the pockets of a few key elected officials.
“Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them.”
— Paul Valery (1871–1945)
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October 1st, 2009 on 10:21 am
Term limits are a great idea. Now, if we could only get the politicians to agree to them so that they can be put into place…
The fencing is also a great idea. The reason Medicare and Social Security are in fiscal trouble is due to Congress taking those funds to pay for other things.
While voting with tax money is an interesting concept, I’m not sure it is a practical one.
October 7th, 2009 on 5:12 pm
Term limits are to me just another easy way out of addressing political and social problems. I’m not overly impressed with politicians, in general, but some are truly committed to serving their constituents, to creating a better world. Why should they be termed out due to some prescribed number of years? Let them serve forever. As to those who we feel aren’t doing the job: Vote them out. It might take some painful work but anything worthwhile usually will require some labor. I think trying to make things snappy and easy is one of the major problems in our free society. We want to leave the work for others instead of digging in and making the changes we’d like. And we often avoid taking the easy route when it can work. An example: when Bush sent our troops, many of them teenagers fresh out of high school, off to fight an immoral and illegal war in Iraq based on the vilest of lies – well, we could have easily stopped him if millions of us had just gotten off our behinds and hit the streets and demanded that our children not become cannon fodder for rich oil men’s dreams, alongside the few who did and were ridiculed as “liberals” and “scaredy cats.” Democracy is definitely not a spectator sport.