24-7 Government

It seems as though the MSM and various "watchdog groups" (e.g. the self-appointed arbiters as to what constitutes the "good" vs. "bad" use of power) have their collective panties in a wad over this one. Indeed, Mr. Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles, said yesterday:

A governor should be a 24-7 governor. I'd much rather have him receive $175,000 [salary] in taxpayer money than receiving $1 million from a special interest that can be affected by the governor's decisions or vetoes.

Of course you would, Bob. People like you decry "gridlock" and characterize a legislative-slowdown as, "unproductive" and oh..., so of the Calvin Coolidge era. Nonsense. FDR's 100-Days is no model of progress - at least not in economic sense. Slowdown is good, and stoppage is even better. I like to think of a legislative slowdown as the 7th inning stretch. It presents a quick opportunity for the real "producers" in society to jump up, stretch their legs, grab a beer, and run to the bathroom without the need to watch the ever-moving ball of government regulation that tends to totally consume the balance of their time. Why is it that we, or at least the Bob Stern’s of the world, expect our elected officials to devote their “undistracted” lives to office? I can't think of many things more dangerous than a fully-committed governmental body looking for things to do.

I say we eliminate the salaries and pensions for officeholders. Let's not encourage any more of these or these than necessary. Perhaps then the busy-bodies will be forced to focus a bit more of their time toward endeavors wholly unrelated to legislating.