Replying to Ben and Jack:
Ben says:
>Good point, Jack. Politicians feed off of two basic needs:
>
>1. Money, as it takes money to run a campaign
>
>2. Power, as it takes power to get your legislation passed
>
>Profit is a motive, and politicians go to great length to court the right
people, propose
>the right legislation, to ensure that they get enough money to win the next
campaign.
>This, again, brings us to a near-term view of the political process, and
impedes, IMO,
>a systemic approach to government.
I disagree that these are BASIC needs. I think many politicians who enter
public service are motivated by a sincere desire to make a difference. I
recognize that some do it primarily to feed an over (or under) inflated ego.
I disagree that money and power are basic needs. They are outcomes of the
system. I also disagree with the notion that all politics is the same. I
think there are substantial differences between Federal, State and Local
government. Finally, I think that the number of truly fine legislators (at
the national level) who have announced their retirements in the past year
have done so because they do not want to continue support the system
by-products of money and power.
--Debbie
Debbie Broome | P.O. Box 860358 Assistant City Manager | Plano, Texas 75086-0358 City of Plano | e-mail: debbieb@linux.plano.gov FAX: 214-423-9587 |
"A fish always starts rotting at the head"
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>