Politicians and Liars...Two sides of the same coin.
I think that all politicians that are in charge of tax payer funds should have to do two things. The first, is to pass a basic college level economics test. This would include both mico/macro economics concepts. The second, is to pass a test over the United States Constitution.
I'm not hoping for perfection on these exams, just passing grades.
Attorneys have to pass the bar exam.
Aspiring doctors have to pass the MCAT's then make it through residency.
Accountants have to pass the CPA exam.
These are all difficult things to accomplish.
What do politicians have to do? They have to collect a lot of money with fundraisers.
They have to fly all over the country and give speeches (that were written for them).
They have to have a couple of debates where they spew talking points no matter what question the moderator asks and most of all, they have to lie.
Politicians don't have to take any tests.
They just have to lie and do it better than the next guy. They have to lie with a straight face. They have to lie to friends, colleagues, and family members. They also have to lie to themselves.
Yet these are the people we choose to have run our country.
Why are we so amazed when we wake-up to the morning headlines about the poor shape our country is in? We should have seen it coming. Afterall, we are the ones who put them in office.
Philip
10:57 pm on Friday, January 18, 2013
Rich read my post about Congress and the Roman Senate. Here is the link
http://ofallon.patch.com/blog_posts/congress-compared-to-the-roman-senate
Rich Pope
9:35 am on Saturday, January 19, 2013
Philip,
Thanks for the link. I'll check it out.
Jim Frain
9:04 am on Monday, January 21, 2013
The "Tests" that all politicians do take is at the polls. Whether politicians are local, state or federal they are all "tested when they run again" and sadly, we bring back 93% of the incumbents. Therefore, they feel that they "pass the test"... The real test we as citizens and voters of the country should take should require that we: 1. Register To Vote (many don't) 2. Vote (many don't) 3. Study and understand every candidate and issue on the ballot (many don't) 4. Become involved in our local city by attending council meetings, getting to know the elected officials, and asking/demanding change when need. We have met the enemy, and the enemy is us. The politicians stay in office because we don't pay attention and become active, we just complain. The voters have failed the test.
Rich Pope
12:05 pm on Monday, January 21, 2013
Jim,
Amen. Jimmy Kimmel did a funny segment on his show where three days prior to the inauguration, he interviewed people on the streets to ask if they liked or disliked the inauguration. Even though it hadn't taken place yet, people had an opinion as to how it went!
Voters are horribly uneducated but so are our politicians. Instead of sending and then re-sending the same people to represent us in government, we should send someone new each term so that current issues are truly brought forward.