On Politicians

Regarding American (and western politicians), public distrust in the group is not without reason. It is the result of a political system that rewards politicians alignment to wealth, institutions, and party power over the public.

Examples include:

• Receiving funding from interest specific groups
• Insider trading, i.e. making stock market decisions based on knowledge only available to those in specific governmental positions
• A general “out-of-touchness” with the American public due to the priviliges gained from their wealth

To address this, I propose reforms for members of Congress, the President, and senior aides. While in office, political actors should be legally restricted from engaging in behaviors that tie their personal advancement to wealth accumulation or elite social signaling. This includes prohibitions on stock trading (direct or indirect), limits on luxury travel funded by outside actors, and standardized housing arrangements while in Washington. Standardized housing in particular would reduce status competition, limit elite social integration, and reinforce the idea that political office is temporary public service rather than an avenue for upward class mobility. Politicians would still be paid well, so as to avoid corruption via underpayment.

Taking office exposes one to corruption, unaccountable power, and elite pressure. Even well intentioned people can become sucetible to this, so we must actively try to limit it.

Additionally, campaign financing should adopt a system more similar to that used in Japan, where limit on private financing and increased funding transparency reduce wealthy donors influence. Such limits allow political competition to be shaped more by ideas and representation than by access to capital. This produces a more functional democracy, as candidates are chosen for their positions and competence rather than their fundraising ability.

I remember once watching a compilation of Nick Mullen on a Fox News program, and the Fox News host argued that people like the Coke Brothers (oil billionaires) could donate to politicians to get them on their side and pass laws that save them money in the long term. This was treated as a good thing, but I think that if you briefly critized this most Americans would see it as the con it is with no place in our government.

Currently, roughly 90% of House races and 86% of Senate races are won by the candidate who spends more money. This goes against the idea that elections primarily select for merit, intelligence, or moral conviction. If political survival depends on financial backing, then political behavior of politicans will align with financial interests, which ties back to why politicians are so disliked.

Private lobbying should be abolished and replaced with TRANSPARENT, publicly accountable strucures for interest communication. Influence over public policy must go through structured institutions rather than through capital or personal relationships, as it is currently done. This could mean recorded, public meetings done between advocacy groups and politicians, sorition based councils that review legislation publically with town meetings and the politcians, and/or publically funded interest groups (“consumer office, environmental office, industrial office”) that corporate lobbying would be done through. I will make a specific plan later.

Trust in the government has consistently trended lower decade over decade. To fix this, we need to get kind, dedicated, and thoughtful politicians. In addition, the previous jobs of those in power should be diversified to include more engineers, scientists, teachers, farmers, and people from all walks of life, rather than the current overrepresentation of lawyers and businesspeople.