So lately I’ve come to the conclusion that politicians simply have too much time on their hands. While this may also be a problem inherent in our political system, it seems politicians sit around thinking about what MORE they could do. The result is a huge bloated political system with laws and procedures we don’t need.
Here is a prime example. A senator from Rhode Island wants to keep athletes from charging for autographs. Why on earth does he think this is part of his job?! I’m telling you, he’s bored. We pay him too much money and require him too work far too many months out of the year.
This is where I’ve come up with a new theory, much broader in scope. Goverment only grows. Sure, we might cut a program or two when the deficit grows, but by and large, goverment just gets bigger. It seems that politicians today, and most of the people that elect them, have NO concept of what goverment should be doing. Instead of simply providing national defense, police and fire on a local level, roads and highways, and just keeping the peace…politicans get BORED and have made government bigger than it should have ever been.
There are two problems with this. One is that we need to first stop the goverment from growing any further, and second is to begin reducing it. To solve the first problem I would drastically reduce the time during the year in which politicians work. If senators only work 2 months of the year, they’ll be forced to focus on the things that really matter, like establishing a budget. The second issue is a much bigger one. Reducing the role of goverment in non-essential areas is almost impossible. No politicians really want to do it, because it would put them out of a job. No one wants to make themselves extinct. Any ideas?
