The random political thoughts thread (Part Deux)

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

I wouldn't mind that, as long as there was an annual or bi-annual election to determine whether or not they should continue serving. That would keep 'em on their toes.

Too many elections leads to an elected body whose job is to please the electorate rather than make policy. I know that might sound like a good thing, but the Constitution was written to avoid a direct democracy for a reason. In the short term, the will of the people is a confused mess of immediate gratification. Elected officials need time in office to do their job and make long term plans, they don't need to be riding the fickle whims of the masses.

[Alex]

There is a line of thinking that a lot of the California budget problems have to do with the implementation of term limits and that legislators (and governors) have no strong incentive for considering consequences more than a decade in the future.