My Christmas wish list: Political term limits

by Matt Caulder, Capitol Conncections, December 23, 2015.

With Christmas coming in a couple of days, my thoughts turn to my wish list for politics in the state and federally.

Would I ask for a part-time federal legislature, an end to businesses funneling money into campaigns, and full-time lobbying?

No. Well, not at first.

I would wish for term limits on just about every single elected office in the land, from the presidency, to the U.S. Congress, and to state and local positions.

I would be okay with the town dogcatcher going at it for as long as he wants to, though.

Political public service tends to breed millionaires

My first reason is this: Look at how many long-tenured politicians seem to accumulate more wealth than the average person.

If you want evidence, just look at the wealth accumulated by our state “public servants” in Washington.

First-term senator and long-term state House leader before that, Thom Tillis has an estimated worth of $8.9 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, making him the 20th richest senator in the U.S. Senate.

Sen. Richard Burr, who came to Capitol Hill in 1994, has an estimated value of $2.6 million.

Of the 13 NC representatives in the U.S. House, six sit in the top 50 percent of legislators by wealth.

Coming in at number one in the state is Rep. Robert Pittenger, whose wealth is estimated at $14.1 million.

Other millionaire state legislators include Rep. George Holding, whose wealth is estimated at $6.57 million, Rep. Virginia Foxx, whose wealth it estimated at $5.24 million, Rep. Mark Meadows, at $4.21 million, Rep. David Price, at $3.36 million, and Rep. G.K. Butterfield at $1.31 million.

So how do all of these public servants, many of them with backgrounds in public service ranging from university administrators to prosecutors, accumulate so much wealth?

I can tell you it isn’t from the $174,000 members of Congress are paid in salary each year, though it is more for party leaders.

Legislators make up most of their income from earnings on investments, but what makes them so much better at investing than the Average Joe?

The answers aren’t as simple as just installing term limits, just as there are on the presidency, but it would be a start.

If term limits were installed on most elected positions, then legislators on the federal level would not have as much time to be corrupted by large corporations flooding money into campaigns, just as the local city councilman would not have as much time for the “good old boys club” to bend his ear for what they want.

Long-term political officials can’t relate to constituents 

I also believe that heading up to Washington for too long tends to make a person forget about where they came from, just as sitting on a city council makes someone forget what it was like to sit in the folding chairs as part of the audience.

Shifting society away from the job of a politician being a viable career choice would help to ensure that the people serving in those elected positions would be more likely to share something with their constituents than merely the same state of residence.

As it stands, how much does David Rouzer, my U.S House representative, have in common with me?

He does not live in Johnston County anymore, he doesn’t trudge up I-40 to Raleigh every morning and fight traffic home every day.

I would like a representative who came from my community, spent a few years doing the job, and came home to live in the situation he left us with.

I want a guy with skin in the game speaking for me in Washington, not someone concerned with making a career out of getting 51 percent of the vote every few years.

More competitive races on all levels

Here in North Carolina next year, 53 incumbent legislators will enjoy uncontested races in November.

The filing date passed Monday and 53 legislators are already done campaigning, but why?

The state and local parties have deemed it not even worth the trouble to try and unseat those incumbents, but if they had term limits that would not be an issue.

So to top off my political wish list, I would like to see “politician” crossed off the list of possible life-time careers and a return to a system where political representatives have to come home and live in the mess they have made, which I believe will incentivize them not to make those messes in the first place and to do what is right by their constituents.

http://nccapitolconnection.com/2015/12/23/my-political-wish-list-for-christmas-term-limits/