Quote:
Originally posted by sebastian_dangerfield
Shit. PJ O'Rourke nailed this issue back in the early 90s in Parliament of Whores. His observation that there is no way to curb wasteful govt outlays without term limits still remains the only true solution to the problem. 99.9% of the waste is generated by people putting the purchase of votes above the charge of their office.
Why not apply the two term limit enforced against the President on every Senator and Congressman?
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Fine with me, but aren't the incentives still there even if you have to go through the revolving door a little faster? If you're a player in an industry with concerns that can be addressed by the chairman of a certain committee are you going to not take him for a ride on the helicopter, champagne blow and hos just because he's going to be gone in six or eight years? If you're the chairman of some committee and your time is coming to an end won't you be looking for a soft landing in a private sector gig?
Why not stop pretending that campaign contributions are constitutionally-protected speech? Every candidate gets a nice little lump sum and contributions are banned. Soft money-sponsored PACs and suchlike cannot run "issue ads" in an election cycle. This will happen when the tiny antimatter boots are perfected, but still.
