As for the other – Congress’ salary acts as a cap on the salary of the rest of government. There was a period in which government salary was so low compared to private industry that the caliber of people the government could attract was mainly people who couldn’t make it in private sector.

And we’re back to the question of power again. If you make a low salary, the benefits better make it up to you. Sure, the low chance of being fired is pretty nice (it means you can make pretty solid plans); but that leads to EVEN MORE governmental ass-covering, because one of the only ways to lose your job is to be hung out to dry – most common from a wrong decision. The other bennie? Petty power; so the jobs attract those who are into petty power…

I sometimes wonder (idly, since it’s not going to happen for a while) what would happen if we could inject some of private industry’s creative destruction into the workings of government.

The problem with congress is that too many people hate the REST of congress – they’re OK with their guy. That’s why the histroically low approval ratings for congress don’t mean anything. Heck, at the congressional level, I’m probably guilty of that – I would rather have Mike Ferguson than any of his opponents (though I can’t say as I am going to miss him at the end of this term). Gerrymandering increases this – since the “negative” votes for the reps still exist, they’re either diffused out or concentrated into one district.

We have a representational republican form of governmant – so our representatives represent us. The bad with the good. Think on the alternatives… And I don’t know how much “amateur” the Founding Fathers were; certainly by the time of the Constitution they were experienced at the politics of the new nation…

We still live in the most free nation on earth. the freedoms are receding in some places, and increasing in others. That’s true everywhere. But we’re still in the ballot box stage – lets keep it there

Right there is the problem. No one should be able to make a six-figure living as a politician.

Yes, and that’s why I said “that in and of itself is not the answer.” I just think that the longer someone stays in D.C. the further away that person gets from the people. Tom Daschle is a great example of this. he got so entrenched in D.C. that he made his primary residence there (much to the chagrin of his South Dakota brethren). Term limits are great way of rooting out corruption, stagnancy, and the worst of all: lifetime politicians. I just think that the trade off of purging the dead weight with ordinary citizens (i.e. “amateurs”) is better than having a bunch of ingrates make legislation that is unconstitutional.

For Ian: The way Congress has been acting lately- I would prefer a bunch of amateurs over them any day of the week.

Seriously, though, the states that have had term limits in state-level offices have had decidedly mixed results with them.

I’d rather get behind eliminating gerrymandering etc.

How can a Senator function as a representative of the people while in coma? It was absurd! He should have been replaced when it was known he would not be able to return to his position. I think there is something seriously wrong when our government furthers the interests of political parties over its citizens.

I sympathize with Libertarians, but I find their puritanical habit of snidely looking down on those who don’t fall in line as off-putting. Politics is an art and it is done by using compromise to get what you want. Libertarians I think miss that and much of the time find themselves getting nothing what they want. This just shows that living in a land of make-believe is not confined to liberals.