Our political system at the federal and state levels features elected officials that are politicians rather than public servants. As politicians their job is to figure out what is best for us, as caring paternal agents, and then practice the politics of implementing the decisions they make. That is the best case scenario. As we all are well aware, politicians will use paternal authority to place self-interest above the public interest. Restoring political balance requires electing public servants rather than politicians.
We can wail and gnash our teeth about the self-interests of politicians all we want, but we make them who they are. Our founding fathers did not intend for elected officials to be making careers out of their office. They set both terms and compensation at modest levels. They did not imagine that politicians like Jesse Helms and Chris Dodd would simply get elected to the same office forever, and make a mint off of special interests while doing so.
Our politicians view their compensation as modest still, when placed in comparison to corporate compensation opportunities. When compared to median family income our “modestly” compensated politicians do well enough for themselves. Add to this the revolving door opportunities of bringing their political influence to private industry and they “earn” more than a doctor’s wages. Of course, that is how we expect “the best and the brightest” to be compensated, and therein lies one problem for restoring political balance.
The best public servants are not “the best and the brightest” but those who want to serve. We might benefit from having “the best and the brightest” serving, but only if that is their motive. Meanwhile, we have ample resources for “the not so best and not so brightest” to do their job admirably well if they have a strong motivation to serve. To restore political balance we must eliminate elected office as a desirable career opportunity and make primary the motive to serve. This means adjustments to the length of service and compensation opportunities. You cannot expect someone to selflessly serve forever, but people with a strong motive to serve can manage sacrifice over the short term.
There is an added benefit to short term public servants if the nature of wisdom is truly understood. We think the advantage of a career politician is having “learned the ropes.” Most of the federal and state bureaucracy consists of permanent positions where folks can “learn the ropes.” Elected positions should be where we want to infuse wisdom into the political process. Wisdom draws from experience, in this case the wisdom from the diverse experiences of constituents. The more turnover with elected positions, the greater the collective experiences from which to draw collective wisdom. If a public servant is in want of particular expertise, that is what staff and the infrastructure of government is for.
If you pull the party lever you are part of the problem this country faces. Maybe you feel Democrats/Republicans far superior than the other party, but you know what? The elected officials in your party are held accountable mainly by the people in your party. Keep giving them a “blank check” come election time and you deserve to be fleeced. A greater problem still is voting for the same incumbent forever, regardless of party affiliation. A moving target is harder to hit. Keep the same politician in office forever and you can bet your house that they will be “hit” by the corporate sector.
If we can create constant turnover with our own actions then perhaps we stand a chance at compensation reforms implemented by public servants. Two types are needed. Compensation should be indexed to the people that public servants are serving. Greater minds than myself can haggle over exact numbers, but the wage of a Senator should be indexed to the median family income of the public. The health and pension benefits should be no different than those available to the people being served.
None of these changes would affect Supreme Court Justices, since they are not elected officials. For that very reason this branch of government is where the greatest danger to our democracy lies. More on that next.
Tags: Federated Wisdom
