TMV writer and co-contributor Zill Miller Zimon recently challenged TMV bloggers and other individuals full of ideas to run for political office. I nearly died laughing at the suggestion. I could not envision most individuals who have ever written and published something thoughtful running for public office.
The United States and its 50 State governments are no longer functioning representative political systems. Our nation has been falling apart for over 20 years. It may be beyond redemption when many people prefer complete gridlock and paralysis to doing anything at all. We cannot have dispassionate and intelligent discussions over any subject today without degenerating into ad hominem personal attacks, screeching absolute nonsense, and taking extreme ideological positions. Our body politic and majority of voters are so completely ignorant and uneducated – and proud of that fact – so they en masse simply avoid listening to all the facts and considering thoughtful yet complex proposals from various points of view.
We as a society and economy have degenerated into a corrupt crony capitalism, a complete perversion of a free market system and representational democracy. Our corrupt oligarchy and the wealthiest 2% of the population simply own our politicians. Our merged political, social, economic and civic elites care little or nothing for the other 98% of Americans.
We have chosen the low road, fully bought into “my way or the highway,” dismissed compromise and moderation, and completely embraced extreme political, social, economic and religious polarization. We can only speak and understand in short sound bites. We relish 24/7 info-media entertainment of outlandish statements completely separated from the facts or reality. We’re collectively mad, confused, fearful, vulgar, narcissistic, greedy, ignorant, and thus are wholly unable to govern ourselves or speak rationally among ourselves.
Americans are all in one of the 5 stages of grief over this massive economic, social and political crisis of the 21st Century. We cannot go back to some fantasy period in the past, nor resurrect our economy or even broken capitalist and financial systems. All ideologies are essentially bankrupt and fully discredited. We don’t know how we will adjust to a completely different world, with a shrinking economy, degrading environment, and new social and political realities. Our Great American Empire is on the ropes and we have no interest in mutual support, shared sacrifice, making hard choices or coming up with sane priorities to change our trajectory towards utter collapse. Each short-sighted group only cares about gaining and holding power for its own selfish ends, not for any common good or the best interests of future generations.
As a former attorney and entrepreneur, I had many professional encounters with politicians from all parts of the spectrum. My personal political and economic views continue to change with time, have varied, and still range, all over the place. My late father worked as a highly respected professional in the private sector until he was nearly 50 and then he spent the last 20 years of his life as a very successful appointed non-partisan high-level public servant. He was a rare breed and his presence is still missed by this writer and by many who he assisted during his career. I do not feel I can follow his example at this stage in American history.
I personally believe that anyone who runs for public office or serves in government as an employee, bureaucrat or appointee should be at least 40 years of age. In this way we would ensure that our public servants have a decent amount of experience in the private sector and real world. I also think that term limits are important to ensure new blood regularly enters into the system. I also favor mandatory retirement around 65 so at most any individual has a maximum of 25 years (40-65) to make a mess of things in public office. I don’t believe public sector compensation and retirement benefits should be so generous as compared to the private sector/ That reality is fueling so much anger towards all levels of government among the general public during this deep recession. The fact that “Big Government” only looks after “Big Business” and the wealthiest 2% of Americans is also a source of anti-government sentiment.
I personally dislike career politicians and bureaucrats immensely. Too many of these incompetents are in it for their selfish aggrandizement and the financial rewards because they could not make it in the competitive private sector. I don’t think that it would be so bad seeing them in unemployment lines or low-paying part-time work alongside about 20% of the American people. That’s why I don’t support more Federal monies for States to keep public employees working except for teachers in K-12.
I seriously wonder about the viability of extending unemployment benefits via the inconsistently complex state-by-state manner we have been doing. I think it would be better to put all the unemployed and underemployed in a new civil division of the U.S. Military dedicated to national infrastructure projects or placed in private sector enterprises via a paid training internship program under the U.S. Labor Department at a minimum annual compensation of around $15,000 per person. I believe people working in these new programs and all public employees along with all elected officials must regularly pass random drug, alcohol and STD testing. However, people would not lose jobs or benefits – instead they would be immediately enrolled in treatment clinics to address their addictions.
I also believe this country needs a complete overhaul and simplification of our Federal and State tax system to make them efficient collectors of revenues for a limited number of public projects and purposes. Our tax system should not try to accomplish every economic or social goal imaginable through a complex system of special breaks, exclusions, exemptions, credits, incentives, and inconsistent treatment in order to politically and economically reward well-financed campaign supporters. We cannot continue to massively distort private economic decisions and the efficient functioning of a reasonably regulated free market economic system.
When I lived in Cleveland, I met most every city, county, state and federal office-holder, and many top bureaucrats at various agencies, commissions and departments. I met Bill and Hilary Clinton, Al and Tipper Gore at DLC events while they were still in other elective offices, and when they started their 1992 campaign in Cleveland. I personally know and like Congressman Dennis Kucinich but I don’t agree with him on many things. I supported and gave money to John McCain in 2000, but now feel he has changed so much and he is so old that he should be retiring instead of running against a complete nut-job named JD Hayworth. The Democratic choices in Arizona are pretty lame against the many pretty poor Republican incumbents. The best people in Ohio, Arizona and across America cringe from running for public office.
Very few elected officials really understand what is going on or have any definable or interesting ideas. Some are good at finding them by honestly reaching out and listening to many different people. Others are only good at schmoozing the public, raising money, and getting elected and re-elected by endlessly repeating the mantras of the day. If they have specific ideas or positions, the most successful ones are good at never disclosing them and they appear to be wholly incapable of enacting anything after they get elected.
In my many dealings with public officials, too many life-long public bureaucrats were suspicious or even outright antagonistic towards people from the private sector, thinking we were only out for selfish gain. Normal processes taken for granted in efficient private organizations seemed to elude them completely. They had no sense of urgency as they think they can endlessly study and consider options until they retired because their jobs were secure and they were wholly unfamiliar with the real world faced by those who paid taxes to support their employment.
I am by nature impatient and not well adjusted towards endless schmoozing, pointless socializing with co-workers and campaign contributors, and waiting forever until some small steps are taken towards any major or even minor goals. I don’t like to see or endure wastes of time, money or brainpower. Those are unfortunately the normal modus operandi of public service.
I had some friends who suggested I run for public office because I was full of ideas, energy, and rather engaging with other people in both large and small groups. However, I do not think or speak in sound bites, I am not tall or good-looking, and I am definitely not wealthy or have rich in-laws or unrelated wealthy supporters to finance my political aspirations. These are important pre-requisites for successfully running for public office regardless of political affiliation. I would prefer to run as an official “independent” or “flaming moderate” but that won’t generate much public or financial support either. I have written and published too much that could give endless ammunition to political opponents, even if I might have changed my positions over time or was merely writing a rant or intellectually entertaining a particular viewpoint ad absurdum. Thus I doubt I could even get elected as a “County Dog Catcher.”
Since I don’t believe our system is capable of changing or saving itself, I simply don’t want to participate in the charade. I have thought from time to time that a public salary, benefits and retirement package might be a safe bet and sure lure towards my seeking public office or becoming a government bureaucrat. However, when our country collapses within the next decade or two, there won’t be any money or political structure to pay those public servants. I’ll then be too old to do anything else.
Right now I’m working on a survival mode preparing for the Great American Empire’s Impending Messy Collapse. I strongly recommend most TMV readers to do the same. Caring and writing about, or participating in public affairs at all levels in the U.S. is getting more pointless and ludicrous by the week.
Submitted by Marc Pascal while ranting happily in Phoenix, AZ and wishing all TMV readers and contribuors a Happy Bastille Day. Remember that which followed 1789 in France could easily be repeated here in the USA.