Our ineffective, corrupted politicians (on both sides of the aisle) have no motivation to change this system, and we won't be better off, economically especially, until it is.
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/10/31/klei ... terms.html More Money, More Problems
The soul-crushing life of a senator.
“When candidates … are spending 90 percent of their time raising money,” Bayh says, “that’s time they’re not spending with constituents or with public-policy experts.”
Which raises the obvious question: why don’t they do something about it? The answer is depressing: few politicians like the current system, but they’re better at gaming it than everyone else is.
I asked Bayh if he saw any hope on the horizon. His answer wasn’t what I’d categorize as hopeful, but it rang true: “There’ll be a major scandal at some point that’ll shock the public. It’ll be worse than what happened with [superlobbyist Jack] Abramoff. And at that point, the system will be changed.”
Here’s hoping, I guess.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
MONEY!
to help combat this we need to DEMAND Term Limits, and do what the Founders wanted...
IT'S A SERVICE, to be honored, NOT to make one a millionaire.
Money is only cause of the rotten underbelly of the federal beast.
The other is Power.
Power to make decisions that restrict other people's lives. Power to dictate your personal beliefs into legislation. Power to have hoards of brainless devoted followers mimic your words - true or not.
Some politicians crave money, but I'd wager that many more are simply addicted to the power that comes with the office.
The fix for this is simple - increase State's local controls and decrease the size of the federal government.
State governments are much easier to reach and tend to have more turnover than the feds. County governments even more so. That's where the power should reside - distributed.
"Whatever you are, be a good one." ~ Abraham Lincoln
TPP wrote: MONEY!
to help combat this we need to DEMAND Term Limits, and do what the Founders wanted...
IT'S A SERVICE, to be honored, NOT to make one a millionaire.
Lobbyists throwing out loads of cash are also the problem. When a politician needs money for campaigning, lobbyists are just too eager to help out. Then the winning candidate owes them a favor (or two or three)
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Nobody that matters wrote: Money is only cause of the rotten underbelly of the federal beast.
....
The other is Power.
....
The fix for this is simple - increase State's local controls and decrease the size of the federal government.
State governments are much easier to reach and tend to have more turnover than the feds. County governments even more so. That's where the power should reside - distributed.
True- Term Limits (lack of), power and lobbys, and no balanced budgets are problems. But the key (quoted above) is most issues are "non-issues" at the Federal level. The first question should always be " is this something the Feds should even be doing, and do they have Constitutional authority to do it"? Most of the time the answer is NO, but no one pays attention. Give the power back to the states.
If you want to be, press one. If you want not to be, press 2
Republicans are red, democrats are blue, neither of them, gives a flip about you.
Joe wrote: True- Term Limits (lack of), power and lobbys, and no balanced budgets are problems. But the key (quoted above) is most issues are "non-issues" at the Federal level. The first question should always be " is this something the Feds should even be doing, and do they have Constitutional authority to do it"? Most of the time the answer is NO, but no one pays attention. Give the power back to the states.
Just listen to the ads these f.......g unions have been running against Buck. They are the kind whom I wish would get a visit in their HQ from an anti American foreigner with a special delivery. Foreigner gets his 72 virgins and does us a favor.
