Government, specifically Congress, is the world’s most famous debate club.  CSPAN’s coverage of how we make government work is riveting, nail biting, and puts thriller movies to shame.  Actually it’s a snore fest.  It’s also the most inefficient governmental system on the planet.

As a matter of fact though, democracy was designed to be inefficient.  Things would move along much more quickly if we had a dictator making decisions and passing laws on a whim.  But the system of checks and balances system was designed to slow the government down and keep one area or person from gaining too much control.  They say there’s a fine line between genius and insanity, our founding fathers walked that line with the precision of a 12 year-old Chinese gymnast.

That isn’t to say that government is perfect, it’s far from it.  And just like those love handles, baggy eyes, or that weird toenail you’ve got there is always something that can be done to make government better.  I came up with 10 reforms to make government better.  They are centered around a few themes, notably my hatred for “Washington Insiders”.

Redraw Districts & Reduce House Size: The House of Representatives is too darn big.  435 legislatures is simply too many people to get into a room to debate a bill.  Make each district a little bit larger and aim to reduce the size of the house by 1/3 to 290.  Those additional 145 people aren’t adding enough value to the legislative process to be measured by their salaries and pensions.

Limit Congressional Representative Terms: The career politician disgusts me.  No one should ever make a living representing the people.  You get elected, serve your people, and move on.  Congressmen that serve for 40 years are lost in representing their constituencies.  They’re re-elected out of habit and not out of their values or political leanings.  I suggest limiting a House Member to two 4-year terms and a Senator to one 6-year term.  One can serve in all positions, making their legislative career limited to 14 years.  This eliminates idiots that refer to the internet as “a series of tubes” or people that have lived inside the beltway for so long they really don’t connect with their constituency anymore.  This length eliminates the possibility of anyone getting to tap a Congressional pension either, which requires 20 years or more of service.

Capped Congressional Salary: Your congressional representatives are currently paid $174,000 annually with party leaders and the speaker making a bit more.  I think this pay is appropriate however it is Congress which votes to give themselves raises.  They get a cost of living increase each year but at any time they can vote to increase their pay.  Cap it at $174k and only allow for increases indexed to inflation.  We need to pay them enough so that we inspire people other than wealthy land-owners to run but not too much to make the “public servant” branding a joke.

Eliminated Lifetime Supreme Court Appointments: The current system of the President appointing justices works just fine for me.  However just like Congress I don’t want anyone getting too comfortable with government work.  I say for the justices we give them 12-year appointments, but perhaps allow them to be reappointed by the current president.

Banned Lobbying: The government is elected by the people and for the people.  As far as I’m concerned sometimes helping the people hurts businesses and organizations but the priority is the people.  Companies, industry groups, and other lobbyists will be allowed to make their point by being given the opportunity to testify in front of a private meeting (no press) with a committee and other special interests attending.  No swaggy parties, no campaign contributions (except by individuals), and no elected officials being in the pockets of business or special interest.  These congressmen are intelligent they won’t destroy your business model, especially if you make a decent argument.

Phase Out All Social Programs and Reorganize: Social programs like Medicare, Welfare, and Social Security actually provide necessary benefits to our fine country.  However they’re like that clunker you’re considering trading in for the $4,500 tax credit.  You can keep patching it up and adding oil and getting 14 mpg but it might be easier just to dump the whole thing and start over with a new car.  Social programs should be eliminated completely and rebuilt from the ground up about once every generation.  It’s that time.  I’ll go get the shotgun, you meet me around back with Medicare.

Bills Address One Issue At A Time: Pork.  Here’s how you get your bill passed in the current system: add enough pork to get the votes of outliers.  If you want my vote on your health care reform vote you need to include a law increasing FDIC insurance by $50,000.  Rinse and repeat until you have a majority.  The TARP bill from 2008 that bailed out banks included a health care law regarding mental health.  If I’d voted against the bailout my challenger would say in the next election that I voted against mental health.  Making bills address one issue at a time eliminates all the political games that have developed over the years, especially pork.

Balanced Budget*: States must balance their budget and when they can’t they still must make it balance.  We’ve all followed the drama in California.  Like it or not though, they did balance it out.  When the federal government can’t balance the budget they just borrow enough to do it.  This is simply unacceptable.  I don’t care if economic theory states running a deficit is good, I don’t want to worry about us making payments any more than I want to worry about my making my payments.  No debt = no worries.  The asterisk allows for Congress to vote to borrow to finance a specific operation.  For example if Canada declares war we can sell war bonds.  However each series of bonds will be retired and each bill will include a program to phase out the funding.  Oh, and don’t even think about it Canada.

All Spending Introduced In Budget, Not In Bills: Passing a bill that funds a bridge connecting an island to Alaska is not a law.  A law is a binding or enforceable rule.  If you want to fund something you submit it to the budget committee to be introduced with the budget for the next year or your approach the appropriate agency with discretionary spending to fund your little project.

Shenanigans: The Shenanigans law will allow any elected official to call “shenanigans” on another elected official.  Invoking Shenanigans calls out that Senator, President, or Congressman for complete and total BS.  Tom Price should have been shenaniganed for trying to get a moment of silence for the unscientific estimate of lost jobs due to the Cap and Trade Bill.  Famously Ted Stevens referred to the Internet as a series of tubes in a famously ignorant rant; shenanigans would have shut him up. Too often our elected officials simply say words in some kind of grammatically correct fashion and seem to think they’re making good sense.  Supporters line up behind BS and never even understand what it is they’re standing for.  With the Shenanigans law the elected official is issuing a challenge to that other official to offer greater clarification and details about what it is they’re saying.  Like the play challenge in football, if you lose the Shenanigans you called you don’t get another during that Congressional session.

Okay, Shenanigans may be difficult to enforce but everything in this list is designed to streamline government and make it more efficient.  Remove tools from the beltway before they’ve been there long enough to be tools.  Get the government back to supporting the people first.  My list isn’t perfect, but I don’t see any reason why every single one of them deserves and open conversation on the floors of Congress.

Got a problem with my reforms?  Got better ones instead?  I’m sure you do.  Leave it in the comments.

Photo: laurapadgett

By The Weakonomist

The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics. Also keep in mind that nothing I say can be construed as financial advice.

categories: government, lists