[CharlesW]

> I know that politicians have a bad name today but they are still elected officials who have an incentive (elections) to do what's best for the country as a whole.

Those aren't the same. The vast majority of politicians will almost always favor short-term "free candy!" decisions that they know will be popular with their base come election time, rather than make difficult decisions that would actually improve the quality of life for their constituents over even the slightly-longer term.