Blazer Bob wrote: I also agree but is unconstitutional and is not going to happen except at the ballot box.
SO, if we are going to wish for solutions I will wish for the only one that has a snowballs chance in hell. Get rid of high places.
Rick wrote: For once I agree with archer... I'd like to see people in congress as part-time servants of the people instead of tenured career politicians who seem to get re-elected based more on their name recognition than their 'accomplishments" (which are rare). These people are no more special than the people who pickup my garbage, but they would disagree.
Too bad we can't replace them with the runner up the second they prove to be corrupt, or lie, or don't pay their taxes, or act like perverted creeps etc. (yes on both sides)
There is a difference Bob between wishes and goals....this should be a goal. We have done it before....and I hope we do it many times.....change the constitution to fit an ever changing country and population. The constitution was designed to be changed. Why do you think we are now incapable of doing what nearly every generation before us has done?
archer, I have given an answer to your question some thought. There are several directions I could go but I find them all either too inflammatory or too weak. Sorry we did not get a chance to talk at lunch. I am just not up for an extended on line back and forth.
ok....another time. The idea of using term limits to mitigate the effect special interests have on elected officials, and lessen their ability to profit both monetarily and personally from what should be public service has long been a goal of mine, and I hope some candidates who see their election as a privilege not a right, and public service is just that....a service to "we the people".
Term limits make them more beholden to special interests, not less. Trying to get re-elected makes them want to appeal to voters. If they don't need to win votes to stay in office, why bother listening to constituents?
Why bother voting for them in the first place? Might as well just appoint people, like state legislators used to appoint senators.
It is all moot anyway, until the US Constitution changes, states that tried to pass term limits for US Senators and Congressmen were told they weren't legal.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
There is another side to that argument, just how much money do you think special interests will invest in a single congress critter if they are going to be out of office in 2 terms? But you are right that the money won't go away until we make it illegal for elected officials to accept ANY money or perks while in office beyond their salary, and for a set number of years after they leave office. Campaigns should have a limit on how much money can be spent on a single campaign, and it should be public money. Rich or poor, you have the same right, and chance, to serve your country.
Very astute. We had this debate in college about pre-med students one day. Do you want the very good surgeon who is in it only for the cash or the mediocre doctor who really cares about his patients?
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
FredHayek wrote: Very astute. We had this debate in college about pre-med students one day. Do you want the very good surgeon who is in it only for the cash or the mediocre doctor who really cares about his patients?
I'm not sure the doctor who is in it only for the cash would be the "very good surgeon"....I hate either/or questions.....there are other options.
In my humble opinion, the problem is power. There's too much of it being sucked up by the government. They want to control our retirements, our health care, our recreation, our hobbies, what we drive, what we eat, what we drink...
Take away the power, give it back to the citizens. Then there won't be as much incentive for the power hungry bass turds that are in there now to stay in office.
"Whatever you are, be a good one." ~ Abraham Lincoln
Nobody that matters wrote: In my humble opinion, the problem is power. There's too much of it being sucked up by the government. They want to control our retirements, our health care, our recreation, our hobbies, what we drive, what we eat, what we drink...
Take away the power, give it back to the citizens. Then there won't be as much incentive for the power hungry bass turds that are in there now to stay in office.
The left is angry because they are now being judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin.
The public trust is a sacred thing. Too often, those who abuse it are given a pass. A politician who is corrupt should face charges of treason. The decision to punish should not be left in the hands of their fellows, but in the hands of the voters. If you feel you can take bribes and serve special interests with impunity, what incentive is there to do otherwise?
As tempting as term limits are, don't they further remove power from the voters?
