There are two main reasons great nations or empires have fallen through history; 1. They become so large in geographic size that they are very hard to manage and 2. Those in charge of the government are so involved with keeping their position that they govern with their fate in mind not the fate of the country.
We have reached that point with the the United States Senate and Congress.
In the case of Rome the territory they tried to govern was so large that the task was impossible. The United States Washington bureaucracy can be compared to controlling territory. Government has become so big and clumsy that control of all facets of government functions are becoming difficult to oversee. Examples, in recent days, can be seen in the CDC's handling of the Ebola scare, the TSA's many screw ups at our airports, the IRS's targeting of conservative groups, an out of control budget and a deficit crisis that boggles the mind.
Just like the Roman Senate; our Senate and Congressional elected officials are governing in ways that will protect their jobs rather than governing in a way that is best for the country as a whole. In this environment answers to the hard questions never materialize. Votes that matter are rare and party lines are followed at almost every turn.
Millions of dollars are wasted on elections. Hard decisions are pushed off to after elections as politicians try to stay away from making any decision that may hurt their re-election chances. The needs of the country be damned.
Until recently I did not believe in term limits. My thinking, which I now believe flawed, was that the longer they were in office, gaining experience, the better that they would govern. I was so wrong in that thinking.
It's time for term limits on national office holders. The question is; Do elected officials have the will power to impose term limits on themselves? My guess is NO!!
Randy
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