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> "... w/ 1 term only." Nevada introduced term limits a few years ago and the result has been, at best, zero meaningful change and, at worst, actively making a
by edavis 13y ago
> "... w/ 1 term only."
Nevada introduced term limits a few years ago and the result has been, at best, zero meaningful change and, at worst, actively making an already crappy state government even worse. And they're still given at least a few terms, rather than just one (which would make it even worse).
What ends up happening when you term limit politicians is other actors in the political system gain more power. And in Nevada's case, that means lobbyists and special interests.
They're the ones who can accumulate 20 years of experience while politicians come and go. They're the ones freshman lawmakers are forced to turn to because all other sources of institutional knowledge are no longer around.
In the abstract, I get the appeal of term limits. Fresh blood, new ideas, change for the better. In the real world, though, it just doesn't work.
- dragonwriter 13y agoTerm limits are a (generally, ineffective) attempt to hack around a bad electoral system that doesn't provide meaningful choices (majority or plurality/runoff). Preference voting systems (either single member systems, like IRV, or multimember systems like STV) address the problem term limits try to address more directly.
- edavis 13y agoAbsolutely. Well said. To your point that the electoral system doesn't provide "meaningful choices," one suggestion I've always thought was interesting is Jonathan Bernstein's "floors, not ceilings" idea: > No, the trouble in campaign finance that bothers me the most isn’t corruption, or the massive sums spent on presidential campaigns; it’s the fact that many Senate challengers and most House challengers can’t raise enough to run minimally viable campaigns. The solution to that, in my view is to put a layer of public financing as a floor for all major party congressional nominees, while loosening the rules to make it easier for them to raise larger amounts of money. Floors, not ceilings (plus meaningful disclosure). http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/for-floors-not-ceilings-in-campaign-finance/2012/04/13/gIQAU31UFT_blog.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/for-f...