Earlier today there was a great post by Ed Albetski on GovLoop about how the primary election process needs to change and it got us here at GovLoop thinking what else would we change about politics.
First off, it should be noted that you should always read Ed’s posts because they either A) contain an awesome restaurant or food recommendation or B) have great content that is thought provoking. Obviously, his post today was the latter. Secondly, while Ed’s suggestion for primary elections are great, there are some things in politics in general that just need to hit the bricks. We talked amongst ourselves at the GovLoop offices today and here’s the “Top 5 Things in Politics We’d Axe If We Could.”
5. Compromise is a dirty word – Henry Clay [link] would be rolling over in his grave if he saw the recent debt ceiling battle. Yes, as a political figure you should fight for what you and those who elected you want but we are all ultimately on the same team and something is usually better than nothing.
4. It’s not an issue until it affects me – If you’re 60 you probably don’t need birth control, but your kids might. If you’re 25 you probably aren’t thinking about Medicare, but you will be in 30 years. Nobody uses every government program, but everyone uses one.
3. There are only two options – The two party system used to work, but it doesn’t anymore. The parties are so entrenched in their base’s beliefs that there’s no option for someone who’s okay funding social programs, but also wants to save a little money. Yes, candidates exist in the middle but the system makes it exponentially harder for them to win and affect change.
2. No expertise – The people making laws and deciding budgets don’t understand what they are making laws about. Do congressmen and women on the transportation committee really know anything about transportation? Probably not.
1. The throwing of govies under the bus – It’s one thing for the public to muddy the water between politicians and govies and treat them as one, but it’s completely different when politicians talk about how bad government is. They’re the problem, not govies! Don’t politicians understand where their bread is buttered… you can make all the laws and decisions you want, but without anyone to execute them nothing gets done.
I’m sure you all have a laundry list of things you could fill in your Top 5. Feel free to let us know what those are below in the comments.