Recently our friend Skud responded to
a few questions I asked in a comment thread. I felt his comment would be better
addressed in its own post.
Skud is an admitted cynic when it
comes to public service in the federal government. He believes Congress and its
members are corrupt, and that people run for office to get rich and become part
of an “elected elite.”
According to Skud, little in America
will change because Congress “is not about running the country for its citizens, it is
all about running the country for [themselves] the politicians.”
One of the main things Skud thinks
Congress is good at “is increasing their wealth.”
These are criticisms we hear
frequently from Americans across the political spectrum. So recently, I asked
Skud a simple question:
“What would you like our political leaders to do for
America? For our people? For you?”
Here are his responses…
•
I would like to see out elected elite
create a balanced budget and honor it.
•
I would like to see our elected elite
protect veterans.
•
I would like to see our elected elite
spend money to help with the homeless issue instead of building a bridge to
nowhere.
•
I would like to see our elected elite
vote for term limits and congress being on medicare and a federal pension not a
four years and you are set for life.
•
I would like to see our elected elite
work for we the people instead of we the elected elite.
•
Our elected elite are suppose to be
smart yet they can't figure out how to provide for basic healthcare for all,
how to provide for veterans, how o clean up our streets and control violence
and enforce the law.
Skud, I see your concerns, and I agree
with many of them.
You've said before that you'd like to
throw everyone in Congress out and start over. But realistically, that's not
going to happen. So we're left with the government we have and the challenge of
making it work.
And that brings me back to my original
question. How do we actually solve these problems?
Some are easier than others.
Congressional self-dealing, for example, seems like something we ought to be
able to address through bipartisan legislation. There's widespread agreement
that something needs to change.
But balancing the budget, providing
healthcare, addressing homelessness, and taking care of veterans are much more
complicated. People disagree not just about the solutions, but about the proper
role of government in addressing these issues.
We
can’t
simply say it’s
complicated, or that Congress is corrupt, and throw up our hands. We can’t just
complain.
Being
a citizen requires more than just diagnosing our problems. That’s
easy. Citizenship also requires thinking about and helping propose solutions to
our problems.
And
I believe that’s
why many people run for Congress in the first place. To be part of the
solution.
So here's my question to you Skud
and the rest of our little band of commenters. Given the political realities
we're dealing with, how would you address the problems you've identified?
Not by throwing everyone out and
starting over, but by working within the system we actually have.
