Career politicians think they own your wallet. With it, they believe they can work miracles. But the miracles never happen.
The words of the Wizard of Oz come to mind: “I’m not a bad man; I’m just not a very good wizard.”
Citizen legislators, who go to Congress for a strictly limited time, think differently. They know their job is to run the government, not our lives. They also remember where the government’s money comes from from you and me.
Here’s an example of the difference. In the final days of this congressional session, a bill was all set to sail through the House, as it had the Senate, spending $31 million on pork-barrel projects. These five pork projects would be named for former Senators all in keeping with the good ol’ boy policy of “let’s congratulate and reward ourselves and our fellow politicians first. We can worry about the taxpayers some other time.”
But citizen legislators brought old-fashioned common sense to bear. Mark Sanford of South Carolina pointed out that $31 million could hire more teachers or pay college tuition for about 4,000 kids.
Rep. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma said he was troubled by spending this money to honor politicians responsible for giving us a $6 trillion debt. “There is something not quite right with that,” said Coburn. This time the good guys won. The bill was defeated.
Term-limited members made sure the taxpayers were represented, not just the politicians. That’s a big difference.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.