The Heart of the Problem

Today Yahoo.com carried a report by Andrew Gulley of Agence-France Presse (AFP), an international news agency, entitled, "Senate plan firms to avert US debt default."*  What caught my attention about this report is how succinctly Gulley articulated the crux of the problem with the political process, in this country.


Gulley reported, "The budget showdown is enmeshed in America's perpetual election cycle as Republicans seek to block Obama's agenda, painting him as a big-spending liberal who would drive the country to economic ruin if reelected in 2012.  But Republicans have to walk a fine line as any obviously cynical politicking seen as detrimental to the fragile US economy or imperiling jobs would also be electoral suicide."

The problem is not the election cycle itself because the process of frequent elections is established in the Constitution.  The problem is career politicians have hijacked the election process to perpetuate their long careers in "public service." 

The "perpetual" nature of the process means as soon as a politician wins an election he must immediately act and make decisions based on the imperative need to win the next election.  After all, he wants to advance his career.  Consequently, he must perform the calculus to minimize political risk and maximize political gain.  What did Gulley say about Republicans?  He said they have to "walk a fine line as any obviously cynical politicking seen as detrimental to the fragile US economy or imperiling jobs would also be electoral suicide." 

However, what is missing from this report is the result of our career politicians being "enmeshed in America's perpetual election cycle," a corrupted governing process.  Politicians are so focused on winning the next election and completing the political calculus to ensure their electoral success, the Nation suffers.  Instead of long-term solutions to the Nation's problems we get short-sighted, politically expedient action and decisions.  The country is really no better off, but career politicians are enabled to continue pursuing their own ambitions.

I especially like Gulley's perspective on the issue.  He is on the outside looking in.  Since he is on the outside he can provide a more objective assessment of our political situation.  When a person has a personal stake in an outcome their own self interests tend to guide their actions.  It is easy to understand why the interests of career politicians supersede the interests of constituents and the need to find long term solutions to the Nation's problems.    


 * The report was carried by Yahoo.com.  Below is the link from AFP where the story is posted.  The story was posted on AFP on 7/18 at 10:38 GMT     

http://www.afp.com/afpcom/en/taglibrary/activity/web/multimedia/afp-online-news