The US political system only works if some critical mass of politicians are operating in good faith. I skimmed the article and searched for "pork" to no result

The US political system only works if some critical mass of politicians are operating in good faith. I skimmed the article and searched for "pork" to no results, so I assume there was no mention of what I'd say is the real problem - I don't think any modern bills come without pork, and that's part of the idiocy keeping our political system from working efficiently. Bills have exploded in size out of purely selfish political gaming wherein sponsors will attach dozens of pet projects as riders and as an added bonus, anyone who votes against the riders can be smeared later as voting against the primary topic of the bill. On top of that, because of this practice our politicians aren't even reading most of what they vote on. It's totally broken but short of a collapse I'm not sure how to convince a few hundred senators/congressmen to stop this idiotic, scummy practice. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rider_(legislation) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rider_(legislation)