They Did What !

There seems to be an epidemic of “non-responsive-itis� among elected officials at all levels of government:

The Town Council ignores what the people clearly want in regard to the trash collection franchise.

The County Supervisors ignore the people’s objection to their self-given 56% raise.

The Governor ignores the people’s clear opposition to the special election he insisted on having.

The Representatives and Senators in Washington, in response to the clamor for prescription coverage, produce a plan that confuses the elderly, penalizes those on Medicaid, and, at taxpayers expense, increases the profits of the insurance providers and pharmaceutical companies.

It seems that once in office those we elect forget they are working for us and not the other way around. Perhaps we need to make some changes that will help them keep the employer/employee relationship straight in their minds. Just off the top of my head, starting at the local level maybe we could:

Rearrange meeting rooms, such as those used by the Town Council and Board of Supervisors, so that the people are sitting higher than the officials. This would give visual and psychological emphasis to the correct pecking order.

Prioritize the items on the agenda at the beginning of the meeting placing items the people attending are concerned with first. This would emphasize the importance of the people’s involvement in the issues to be decided.

Schedule a people’s comment time before each agenda item. This would allow people to be heard on an item without having to spend hours and hours listening to things they are not concerned about.

Turn salary decisions over to employers (the people) rather than letting the employees determine their own raises. This would allow the people to reward employees for good performance and penalize them for poor or complete lack of performance.

And last but obviously not least, the people need to start expressing their displeasure with their vote. The idea that staying away from the polls sends a strong message of dissatisfaction is a fallacy. That choice simply leaves the incumbent in place. The real message of dissatisfaction is a vote against those who continue to serve themselves instead of the people who elected them.

There are undoubtedly many more good ideas at all levels of government. Given the chance I bet many of you could come up with suggestions. Here’s your chance.