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Term limits have been discussed again and again. They are a terrible idea because it results in special interests basically running the entire show. Politicians

Term limits have been discussed again and again. They are a terrible idea because it results in special interests basically running the entire show. Politicians don't have time to learn how to write laws, so they instead are stuck rubber stamping whatever comes across their desks, even more so than they already do today. Also building alliances takes time, it used to be that politicians in DC were all friends with each other, which means they could go to the bar after work and figure things out together over some drinks. Now days any politician seen talking to someone of the "opposing" party is deemed a traitor and vilified by the 24hr news media.

D13Fd 3y ago
I still think that killing earmarks is what killed bipartisanship. There is just nothing that each side can give the other without earmarks, so there is no way to negotiate. Instead, it’s just full-on war 100% of the time. They were a tiny percentage of the budget, and it was a small price to pay for functioning government.
- WeylandYutani 3y ago
  It's inevitable with a two party system. If the US had 20 parties there would be a political tradition to form coalitions. Liberals forming a government with far right Christians- the best medicine for ideology is Machiavellian pragmatism.
  - 3seashells 3y ago
    And it creates personal churn, removing people from politics in scandals
trilbyglens 3y ago
So you think special interests don't run the show right now?? Do we live in the same universe? Because the us government is almost exclusively run by special interests.
- com2kid 3y ago
  > So you think special interests don't run the show right now?? Do we live in the same universe? Because the us government is almost exclusively run by special interests. And term limits will make it worse. This isn't some theoretical, research has been done on states that have implemented term limits, everything got worse. OK imagine senators have a 2 term max, 12 years. They are now 100% incentivized to plan for their next job and not actually care about being a senator. We already see this with roles that are appointed by the administration, FCC commissioners are famous for this. Go from industry -> government -> higher paid industry role, utilizing the connections one gained while in government.

D13Fd 3y ago

I still think that killing earmarks is what killed bipartisanship. There is just nothing that each side can give the other without earmarks, so there is no way to negotiate. Instead, it’s just full-on war 100% of the time. They were a tiny percentage of the budget, and it was a small price to pay for functioning government.

WeylandYutani 3y ago
It's inevitable with a two party system. If the US had 20 parties there would be a political tradition to form coalitions. Liberals forming a government with far right Christians- the best medicine for ideology is Machiavellian pragmatism.
- 3seashells 3y ago
  And it creates personal churn, removing people from politics in scandals

trilbyglens 3y ago

So you think special interests don't run the show right now?? Do we live in the same universe? Because the us government is almost exclusively run by special interests.

com2kid 3y ago
> So you think special interests don't run the show right now?? Do we live in the same universe? Because the us government is almost exclusively run by special interests. And term limits will make it worse. This isn't some theoretical, research has been done on states that have implemented term limits, everything got worse. OK imagine senators have a 2 term max, 12 years. They are now 100% incentivized to plan for their next job and not actually care about being a senator. We already see this with roles that are appointed by the administration, FCC commissioners are famous for this. Go from industry -> government -> higher paid industry role, utilizing the connections one gained while in government.