Most people agree that the Federal Government does a bad job representing the interests of most Americans. People think that politicians are either controlled by corporations, liberal elites, religious conservatives, special interest groups, or lobbying money. Let’s just agree that politicians don’t really try to make life better for Americans, but, today, let’s not try to figure out who they are trying to make life better for.
Two articles jumped out at me yesterday. First, AP reported that Lincoln Chafee is considering leaving the GOP. Chafee was a moderate (maybe even liberal!) Republican senator from Rhode Island until he lost on Nov. 7. He was the only republican senator to vote against the Iraq war and he would often disagree with the President.
So why didn’t he switch parties? The AP reported him as saying, “he stayed with the GOP largely because it helped him bring federal dollars home to Rhode Island.”
And there you have it. That is what American federal politics is all about. A few years ago, Tom Daschle got beat in an election partly because his opponent said he didn’t bring enough federal money to South Dakota.
In most years, if you want to survive, you have to bring money to your political district. This year was an exception, as was 1994.
If the real motivator in politics is bringing money to your district, why all the talk about abortion, judges, and gay marriage? That brings me to the second article.
This article is about how some republicans that are NOT elected politicians are talking about a carbon tax.
On a purely theoretical level, it’s not at all inconsistent for a Republican to advocate a carbon tax. Conservatives prefer taxing transactions to taxing income because it’s a way to avoid progressivity; rich and poor get taxed at the same rate. . . . But that’s all theory. In the grubby world of practical politics, Republicans are loath to come out in favor of any tax.
In politics, it is necessary to say you believe in X, Y, and Z, but your actions don’t have to match your rhetoric. All politicians do this. The only explanation is that the real motivation – the real thing that gets them re-elected is not what they keep talking about.
Money for your district gets you re-elected.
So what?
Changing representatives, changing parties, or even changing campaign finance will not change the political reality. The only thing that will change how politics works is to change what motivates the politicians.
Right now, getting money for their district keeps them in power, so that is what motivates them.
Think about what you want your representatives to do. Then think about ways to create motivations for them to do it. That is how to change the system.
“Think about what you want your representatives to do. Then think about ways to create motivations for them to do it. That is how to change the system.”
That’s how to become a part of the system. The way to change the system begins by not participating in a system that doesn’t recognize the rights of everyone involved.
I wasn’t clear here. It does look like I am advocating becoming part of the current system.
I actually think that the current system is broken. I am hoping that people will begin to think about what they want to change the system to. And I think the new system should motivate government employees to protect every-one’s rights rather than motivate them to spend money.