Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: angry

POLITICS: States that give, states that get

Of the states that get more money than they give, 84% are Republican.
Of the states that give more money than they get, 78% are Democratic.
NOW who's redistributing wealth unfairly?
Details here.
Tags: economics, politics
Subscribe

  • Post a new comment

    Error

    switch
    default userpic

    Your IP address will be recorded 

    When you submit the form an invisible reCAPTCHA check will be performed.
    You must follow the Privacy Policy and Google Terms of use.
    Help
  • 102 comments
...go 10 levels up... Expand
ysabetwordsmith

Re: Hmm...

ysabetwordsmith

November 2 2008, 00:58:56 UTC 12 years ago

>>This is because I have worked for several years now as a contract IT person. I never spend more than a year in one job. And I can see how inefficient that is.<<

Yeah, one year is probably too short. For some offices, two years is the term and for others it's four. I don't think a limit of two terms per office is unreasonable.

>>Now, you might think that it's not right to compare the government to a large corporation, but I think it's a completely valid comparison.<<

I think the comparison is all too valid.

>>Worse, government needs longterm planning. If someone knows they're leaving office in a year or two and don't have a chance of being re-elected, they're not so likely to take an interest in what's going to happen five years from now.<<

I hate to say it, but most people today don't seem capable of long-term planning and politicians are downright allergic to it. Even the Supreme Court judges don't do it, and they are posted for life. It would take a lot more than limitless service to fix that one.

*ponder* We might consider making most of the political jobs part-time again. They all started out that way; people kept their dayjob to make a living, and politics was just an extra. It was more like volunteer work with a stipend. I think we got better people in it then.


corivax

Re: Hmm...

corivax

November 2 2008, 03:27:51 UTC 12 years ago

I don't know how much good making political positions would do; government already pays much worse than the private sector, though. My partner and I have similar jobs and skillsets, but one of us works for the state and teaches students, and the other works for a private company. The private sector job pays three times the government one. This is an extreme example, to be sure, but certainly emblematic of a general trend.

We're not politicians, but I don't think the situation is much different for those who are. For most politicians, the alternative is lucrative private law practice.
ysabetwordsmith

Re: Hmm...

ysabetwordsmith

November 3 2008, 06:47:06 UTC 12 years ago

*sigh* Well, that's a point.

Any ideas on how to improve over the current not-great situation, then?