Do politicians EVER do anything for the greater good?

[shropshire 0]

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[beowulf 1]

Would anyone be able to agree on what the "greater good" is?

My opinion some politicians do try to do the right thing, but if they did all of the time they wouldn't remain in office for very long.

Otherwise they mostly do what they need to do to stay in office.

[Niki1 2]

It may be just semantics but I think you're confusing politicians with statesmen. Just like a stopped clock is right twice a day, politicians sometimes do the right thing.

"Once a man is elected to public office, he's just not fit for honest work anymore." Wil Rogers

Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossilbe before they were done.
Louis D Brandeis

Where are we going and why are we in this basket?

[wmw999 2,589]

I'd be willing to bet that most politicians start out wanting to be statesmen, and then they discover that only works if the king apppoints you -- otherwise, you have to get elected.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[shropshire 0]

Quote

It may be just semantics but I think you're confusing politicians with statesmen. Just like a stopped clock is right twice a day, politicians sometimes do the right thing.

"Once a man is elected to public office, he's just not fit for honest work anymore." Wil Rogers

Good point ... but an awful lot of politicians 'appear' to be like stopped Digital clocks.... having not time for anyone.


I know it's a generalisation - but seems to hold true a lot more times than not

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[billvon 3,120]

Most of them try. We all hear about the screwups, not the majority who just try to do their jobs.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

I think the reverse needs to be asked as well:

If we don't agree with a decisions, can we acknowledge it might be for the greater good, or are only those things we agree with considered to be part of the greater good?

[Niki1 2]

Quote

I'd be willing to bet that most politicians start out wanting to be statesmen, and then they discover that only works if the king apppoints you -- otherwise, you have to get elected.

Wendy P.

I like to believe that also. But the perks and the power and the necessity of getting re-elected to keep all that is what corrupts them.
I think 2 things could go a long way to put the system right. At least the way I think the founding fathers meant it to be.
Campaign finance reform. People running for office should be able to take contributions from anyone not eligable to vote for them. No rich Texas oil guy giving money to a New York state office seeker. The constituancy of the office seekers district should be the only ones he is responsible to.
And the rejection of the leagal "fiction" that corporations are persons with the same right of free speech. Again, the corporations can't vote so they don't get contribute (read "buy") to the office seeker.
The office holder needs to be accountable ONLY to the people in his constituancy. No body else should thind that they have a dog in that fight.
That's my utopean vision but I doubt that it will ever happen just as I don't thind obease people will ever outlaw Dunkin' Doughnuts.

Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossilbe before they were done.
Louis D Brandeis

Where are we going and why are we in this basket?

[shropshire 0]

Quote

I think the reverse needs to be asked as well:

If we don't agree with a decisions, can we acknowledge it might be for the greater good, or are only those things we agree with considered to be part of the greater good?

Good point

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[popsjumper 2]

Quote

Most of them try. We all hear about the screwups, not the majority who just try to do their jobs stay under the radar.

Yes, I'm cynical when it comes to goobermint.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[Nataly 38]

I believe it was Plato who said the best government would be made up of "reluctant politicians" who were fundamentally philosophers (in his view, the ultimate critical-thinkers). Problem with this is that people who have great ideas are not always the best people to lead (IMO), because for that we need people who take decisive action. Great thinkers are often passive when it comes to getting things done. (Let's not get into exceptional cases - there are always exceptions.)

In the same way, truly selfless and humble people usually shy away from the spotlight... There are lots and lots of unsung heros out there doing fantastic work for the "greater good" - these are not the type of people who would run for public office.

What one hopes is that the people who *do* run the country are intelligent enough to view problems from a global perspective and choose courses of action that will benefit the greatest number of people. When faced with only bad options, one hopes they will select the least distasteful of the bad options. And when they haven't got a fucking clue, one hopes that they are sufficiently surrounded by intelligent support staff that they are getting good advice on what they should do.

And if we think they're shite, well, the beauty of democracy is that anyone can run for office - people who feel they could do a better job have the opportunity to try. Fact is they have A LOT more information than we do (we hope!!), so it's pretty easy to criticise when you don't know all the facts...

"There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse."
- Chris Hadfield
« Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. »
- my boss

[shropshire 0]

Quite ... I think that anyone who whats to be a politician should not be allowed to be.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[kelpdiver 2]

Quote

Most of them try. We all hear about the screwups, not the majority who just try to do their jobs.

even in the case of the screwups, they may think they're acting for the greater good. Ego and self confidence can cloud the judgment.

[Nataly 38]

Quote

Quote

Most of them try. We all hear about the screwups, not the majority who just try to do their jobs.

even in the case of the screwups, they may think they're acting for the greater good. Ego and self confidence can cloud the judgment.

Yeah... Even egomaniacs can think they are acting for the "greater good" when they do everything and anything to hold onto power... 'Cause obviously having them in power is the best thing for everyone!!

"There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse."
- Chris Hadfield
« Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. »
- my boss

[ryoder 1,590]

Quote

Quite ... I think that anyone who whats to be a politician should not be a.

Absolutely!
Then we could eliminate the power-craving megalomaniacs right up front, (instead of weeding them out by to insulting them to their faces at the White House Correspondents dinner).

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[livendive 8]

Rarely. They have to get re-elected to do anything at all, and the greater good is not typically grounds for re-election. People tend to vote selfishly, and our elected representatives know that if they take care of our selfish interests, we'll take care of theirs.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[marks2065 0]

Take the money out of it, all campain donations that are not spent on the campaign goes to the national debt not the politician. The only income they can have while holding office is the pay they recieve from holding office, if they want more money they can leave that position. If we remove the money we correct most of the problems related to greed.

[livendive 8]

Quote

Take the money out of it, all campain donations that are not spent on the campaign goes to the national debt not the politician. The only income they can have while holding office is the pay they recieve from holding office, if they want more money they can leave that position. If we remove the money we correct most of the problems related to greed.

How about next year the entire government payroll will be equal to 20% of the budget surplus, and the other 80% must be applied to the national debt? How would that play out?

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[billvon 3,120]

>even in the case of the screwups, they may think they're acting for the
>greater good.

Yep. I think there are very few politicians who are actively evil (i.e. know they're working against the greater good but do it anyway,)

[Niki1 2]

Quote

Quite ... I think that anyone who whats to be a politician should not be allowed to be.

I would agree with that if it were a rightious world. But with the system corupted by all the money, I think anyone who wants to be a politician should be DISqualified.

Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossilbe before they were done.
Louis D Brandeis

Where are we going and why are we in this basket?