My Observations of Politicians During Crisis

I now believe our government is only able to respond to crisis, not prevent them.

To understand government, you must understand...

... that 537 elected officials can't agree on anything.  To get the attention of all of these elected officials requires the problem to be big enough to move their other priorities, of which there are many, aside. If you have ever been on a committee, you know how difficult it is to get enough consensus to accomplish anything of value. By the time an initiative gets to the end of the process, often you won't even recognize the original initiative. The bigger the issue, the more difficult it is to agree.

...that there are very few elected officials that are experts in any one area.  I bet if you asked elected Congressman and Senators to explain how a credit default swap or a mortgage backed security worked (the underlying causes of the current financial crisis), most elected officials would have very little knowledge and a shocking lack of understanding of these complex financial instruments.  Yet they are responsible for laws and regulations of these derivatives and how these complex financial institutions work.

... there are thousands of issues for which an elected Congressman or Senator is responsible, along with raising millions of dollars, campaigning for election, and providing earmark spending for the town pool or city park. To be an expert on any of these issues is impossible. 

... that compromise is a costly endeavor.  The support of every Senator or Congressman can be bought for a price, and it usually is.  Do you ever wonder about those Senators or Congressman that are "moderates" in the middle?  They are in the best position to get every project they ever wanted.  Both sides are willing to give them what they want.  Have you ever wondered why they called the person who counts votes, "whips?"  Their job is to whip people into shape.  When the votes get close, the people holding out will get calls like this, "I would really like to help you with the Lewis and Clark water project, but we need you to vote to increase taxes on our new budget bill."

... that reform is virtually impossible because of the sheer size of government and the entrenched interests, lobbyists and money in politics.  The chances of changing anything is very remote--unless there is a crisis.

...that legislative bills in Congress are massive bills.  Small bills, tailored to just single issues such as regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are always included into much larger bills in order for Congress to add all of the other pork programs and special interest group legislation in the mix.  Large bills are the problem.  Small, targeted bills should be a part of reform in Washington.

And that is why government works best to respond to crisis instead of trying to prevent them.

Oh, and of course you should know that government never, ever, never, gets smaller.  It just gets bigger and bigger.  And suddenly $1 trillion just doesn't matter that much anymore. 

And that pretty much sums up why I am cynical on politics.