[mech422]

I'm hoping Brand New Congress(1) actually makes some progress..

We won't get any real change until we get term limits (and then campaign finance reform) and we won't get that till the current incumbents are out.

1) https://brandnewcongress.org/

[gonehome]

I’m with you on campaign finance reform, but term limits have knock on effects that can create bad incentives.

Congress is already a farm league for K street and would be even more so with term limits. More experienced lobbyists would have more leverage with term limited newbies in the government.

That’s not to say there are no negatives to long serving clueless members, but term limits may not be better.

[mech422]

Term limits don't necessarily have to be one term. I was sorta thinking 8 years like the pres. or maybe 10 for an even decade. That would give freshmen time to learn the ropes, but not long enough to get too ensconced. Especially since they still have to win re-election.

[amanaplanacanal]

Agreed. I'm not sure having tons of new people every 2 years that have no idea how Washington works would be a good thing. We just had a president who had no idea, and that was not so good.

I used to be a big supporter of term limits for congress, but changed my mind a while ago.

[tick_tock_tick]

Term limits just means you need to find a candidate with integrity and willingness to support the people X times more often than with them. As for the amendment some of them are just silly.

> "The United States must not support any other governments that infringe upon the right to self-determination."

Trade deals have been our main method of influence change around the world and this would just sign away our ability to do that.

Some stuff is interesting but for every good one there is a random poison pill inside.

[pstuart]

Term limits can have unintended consequences -- I'd rather see ranked choice voting or similar.

[mech422]

I don't see those as mutually exclusive. Also, term limits don't necessarily have to be one term. I was sorta thinking 8 years like the pres. or maybe 10 for an even decade. That would give freshmen time to learn the ropes, but not long enough to get too ensconced.

[pstuart]

True, they're different things.

But if a pol is good at their job they shouldn't get pushed out; we just need to find ways so that they don't remain by inertia alone.

[mreome]

Parties are always going to support the incumbent as long as they will probably win, and in most congressional districts the votes are always solid along party lines. The incumbent doesn't have to be good, they just have to be not so beyond terrible as to make their constituents switch parties. There is no reason for the party to not support the incumbent otherwise.

I think you could also make the argument that after a few decades in congress, it becomes less and less likely that someone has a real sense of what life is like outside of that world, what the average citizen wants and needs from their government, and in some cases how the culture and technology of the world around them actually functions.

Even if a it means loosing a few good people, I think overall some reasonable term limits would have a positive impact overall. They don't even have to be short limits, even something like a 24 year limit would make a huge impact.

[mech422]

>>But if a pol is good at their job they shouldn't get pushed out; we just need to find ways so that they don't remain by inertia alone.

If you figure that one out...Let me know :-) We've had McConnell and Pelosi since the mid 80s! Inertia seems to be the main force in politics (why? I have no idea)

[mreome]

I think it has a lot to do with the two-party system. Many (most?) congressional districts are essentially locked to one party. Unless the incumbent did something egregious enough for their supporters to turn on them, why would their party not support them as their candidate? If they won by decent margin last time, they'll probably win again unless something major changed. Why make all the necessary investments to support a new candidate when it's cheaper and easier to support the incumbent? They would much rather put their money and time into the districts that might flip.

[pstuart]

Bernie is a keeper.

[gabereiser]

Term limits and abolishment of salary for life. Yes.

[mech422]

I'm actually not too upset about the pension/salary...

What floored me was learning ex-prez's get a $1 million travel allowance/year! That seems a bit excessive, to say the least :-P

[gabereiser]

If they used it like Ford did I’m ok with that. If you use your ex-prez status for a force of good in the world. Building orphanages or communities and such.

If you’re just going to go golfing you can do that on your dime.

[mech422]

Can't a 'force for good' fly coach ? :-P

TBH, the sad part is, I can't even think of how you'd categorize usage without someone finding a loophole. Wish I could have a higher opinion of our politicians.

[lallysingh]

I suspect the secret service detail is in that travel budget.

[mech422]

Really? I would have thought they submit receipts back to the secret service, like a business expense re-reimbursement? Either way, I'd love to have a travel budget like that :-)