I think being a congress critter should be like jury duty. Get a letter, quit your job for two years, get paid, get out, go back to your old job. Simple fix for career politicians. I know, overly simplistic, but I can dream, can't I?

The laws of motion could predict where a ball will fall on a roulette wheel if we had precise data on velocity and position of all objects involved. We don't have that, so the theory won't help us gamble. The laws of motion are still a good theory.

Similarly, I stand by the goal of getting uninformed people not to vote. It would work great if we had an unbiased way to work out who is uninformed. I'm holding on to the theory, though, in case some fair way comes along to increase the knowledge level of voters. We dance around this issue when we talk about money in politics. We don't like it, but we don't want to stop people from speaking in the form of ads. The ads wouldn't work well, though, if only informed voters voted.

Talkeetna, Alaska has a cat for the mayor. Perhaps if we swapped out every paid government position for various critters of the animal kingdom... at least then we wouldn't be surprised when the system fails to function.

According to Ayn Rand, a good theory is a workable concept within the laws of reason. It is impossible for something to be "good in theory, but not in practice(reality)" If it doesn't work in reality, it was a bad theory. Food for thought.

You can't sell austerity and win elections in a country that believes that government dependency is a right not a stigma.

Yeah. I meant unlimited power but for a limited time and scope. It's just a crazy idea of mine, like voting tests. I don't think they'd work in practice.

That's spot on.

First of all we need to eliminate ALL political pensions for ALL elected officials on ALL levels. Way too much money. Congress makes 175 grand a year. They can fund their own pensions and health care. No reason the people should be. That includes POTUS as well.

Now I don't believe in term limits because it takes democracy out of the people's hands. But voters have to get smart.
Do you ever ask why hundreds of millions are spent on t.v. adds when all it takes is a few clicks on a mouse to decide if you are going to vote for someone?

If you have an elected official running in your district all you need to do is look up their voting record and see if their record fits YOUR beliefs. As for new candidates, check their websites and position papers. See if their beliefs fit yours. Not everyone will agree with everything it's about PRIORITY.
Democracy isn't complicated people. We just have to be smart and NOT lazy.

"The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity."
WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS

A great poem.

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

My approach would work if democratic gov't weren't fragile. The trouble is it is fragile.

Great post rvguest. I talked to a guy today who said something I found interesting. "Too many people vote for a living. We need more people to work for a living". As long as moochers vote we will get the kind of reps you describe.

With the money it takes to run a campaign, how would John Galt hold onto his unbreached integrity and still get elected?

A good thoughtful post. I might add: Ever since WWII, we have educated kids that government is the answer. Now we have grandparents of children who along with their parents have all been victims of American education. We have all been propagandized to believe that government holds the answer. Ask a liberal or a conservative what they really want and both will say: "We want government to follow our agenda." As long as this is the case, we are forever tied to the concept that government allows us to do anything and we must get government OK before we try anything.. We are only experiencing the beginnings of a radical change in how Americans are governed. Individualism is frowned upon and conformity to the body politic is encouraged. It is now more noble to be poor than rich. Dependent instead of independent and a follower instead of a leader. How many times have you heard: The best leaders are followers? What a crock. Whether one agrees with Ted Cruz or not, he is the most dangerous politician to the established order simply because he will not compromise and everyone knows that compromise is the way to go. The Tea Party people are a legitimate anti-government political movement. You know they are effective because members of the Political Class and Elite constantly berate them. In reality, the Government Class are afraid that what happened in Egypt to Morsi will happen here: People just throw the elected group out and replace it while keeping the structure of our Republic intact.

there is no advantage for those who believe in free markets to go into govt and EVERY advantage for grifters and busy bodies

As someone who has ran political campaigns for 25 years in central Illinois I can attest that all the elected officials and all the wanna be elected officials I have campaigned for have all got major issues. Very few want someone to tell them the truth. They love having their butts kissed and told "how great they are" "how smart they are."
Another problem is that you almost have to be "Christ-like" in the sense that you have to be perfect. NO mistakes in your life AT ALL. No one is perfect. We have all made mistakes. So we are probably losing a lot of great people because when they were a dopey kid they drank a little too much or even did narcotics. Not that I'm condoning that but we are getting into a generation where that has happened. Fortunately W. and even Obama has softened some of the shock on those issues.

Major "tap"...and major anchor on the economy.

I blame the SCOTUS for giving the EPA the freedom to regulate us clear out of any chance for having energy independence.

point for histrionics. I'd give you another point for the vote test-but I'm afraid the DOE would be designing the test. what is your nonsense about ideology and govt service?! the stats completely disagree with you. there's some nobel prizes out there for public choice that prove you wrong as well. here's a litmus. the EPA employs over 17K and privately contracts many times more. How many of them do you wager are Conservative?

Sometimes I think we could tap someone for limited power to solve one particular problem. This person's approach wouldn't be perfect, but at least she would have the authority to move things around and try something without all the political histrionics.

I completely reject the notion that one ideology is geared toward politics. I live in a liberal area, and most people are just running their lives and businesses. For me policy is just an avocation. I attend the fundraisers as social events and to help my friends, not to apply power to further my own agenda.

Sometimes I think there should be a test to vote. I know that has huge problems. If the test were fair, though, maybe it would make politicians focus on the facts more. As it is, it seems most people think politics is a bunch of nonsense. I'll vote for Democrats and attend their fundraisers, but I don't have hope they're any better than Republicans at freedom issues. I remember Republicans cutting Medicare budgets in the mid 90s. Dems were livid. GOP called it Mediscare. The roles reversed 180 degrees when PPACA called for cuts to Medicare. The same argument was happening almost 20 years later, but the sides were reversed. What a bunch on nonsense!

I disagree that the GOP doesn't have exceptional people.

The problem for Conservatives is that the Fourth Estate is 100% against them...and are demonized before the unwashed masses.

Out of 51 random news stories about the recent shutdown, 50 articles blamed the GOP.

On a level playing field, with objective reporting, the GOP would win the field....

Maybe we should elect the person who least wants the job. I nominate my wife.

"Sometimes I think we could tap someone for limited power to solve one particular problem. This person's approach wouldn't be perfect, but at least she would have the authority to move things around and try something without all the political histrionics."

We already have these,,,they are called "czars". The Obama administration currently has 35 of them.

How is that working out???