I took part of Red's post out of the health care thread to make a point. As much as people blame big oil, pharmaceutical, tobacco lobbies for their role in corrupting government maybe we should turn to government itself. These targets above are easy targets but there are much more problems than these such as the ethanol, big labor, environmentalist, etc. It depends on which side of the spectrum you are on and I say this because to some one side is good and the other side is not. I think there is a problem with both but anyway the purpose of this thread is to that we shouldn't overlook the government when talking about reform in this country. Opinons, concerns, answers?
I've come to the conclusion that being a politician has become synonymous with being the lowest scum on the Earth. Politics just attracts this scum. Sure, many run on platforms of lesser government, lesser taxes, etc., but once they get in office, all bets are off. They either change, or they were just scum to begin with and knew they were lying. They realize that the more money they control, the more power they have. And, it's from this power that they make themselves and family members wealthy. I forget who it was, but there was one politician who got elected to Congress. When he was elected, his net worth was something like NEGATIVE $500,000. After having his seat for 5 to 6 years, his net worth was over $10,000,000, all from "legal" but questionable sweetheart deals. While the thought of "reform" is admirable, the problem is that we're basically asking these scumbags to reform themselves and that which has made them wealthy. I guess this is one of the big problems with our system - we count on politicians to police themselves when it comes to ethics. For only they can make laws that makes what they do illegal. And, I think we all know, it will never happen.
The government, as outlined in the Constitution, is the finest system on Earth, despite its flaws. The problem, as I see it, isn't with the government which is supposed to be of, for, and by The People. The problem is with lobbyists and political parties, neither of which are part of our Constitutional government. These elected officials are supposed to be looking out for the best interests of The People by representing their constituents, not by representing their political party or corporate interests. Congressmen should be working for the constituents in their districts and looking out for that district in forming national policy. Senators should be working for the voters in the state and looking out for the state's best interests in forming national policy. The Executive should be working for The People of The United States of America and have the best interests of the nation as his responsibility. Political parties should have no role in government, but only in campaigning. Lobbyists should be banned completely. Let the corporations take their case to The People, not directly to the politicians, lest they forget who they really work for.
Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue if this happened? The thousands of special interest groups and lobbyists would be forced to funnel billions of dollars into marketing to elicit your support to either advance or defeat a legislative action. Every internet site, radio ad, billboard, television show and racecar would be plastered with plea's to "contact your representative". All media stocks would be worth their weight in gold so let me know if this ever gets traction.
This could actually bring down the costs of doing business on the net. I know that junk mail is what underwrites our relatively cheap postal rates. It saved the Post Office's ass.
