US Politics: Competence Crisis?

[Mad Monkey]

Oh, I totally need a job like this! (As the incompetent political appointee, I mean.)

The thing is, you have to be rich enough to donate millions to a successful presidential campaign and be chosen above all of the other people who did the same thing. Honestly, for $1.8 million I could probably just buy a nice place in the Bahamas.

[Fez]

The thing is, you have to be rich enough to donate millions to a successful presidential campaign and be chosen above all of the other people who did the same thing. Honestly, for $1.8 million I could probably just buy a nice place in the Bahamas.

But then you don't get to be introduced at parties even ahead of judges, "His/Her Excellency" trumps "The Honorable"

[Maithanet]

Right. But countries like France and Japan are so close to us that numerous permanent lines of communication are open between high levels of our state department and theirs; thus largely negating the real need for an ambassador (as opposed to staff, who do many important things).

Well either the Ambassador's job is important or it isn't. If it is important, then we need to have someone who is qualified. If the only prerequisite of being an ambassador is a sufficient bankroll, then perhaps we don't need an ambassador at all.

[Fez]

Well either the Ambassador's job is important or it isn't. If it is important, then we need to have someone who is qualified. If the only prerequisite of being an ambassador is a sufficient bankroll, then perhaps we don't need an ambassador at all.

Right. And in some countries it is important and in most countries it isn't.

[sToNED_CAT]

It might not be there for the individual mandate, since it is so central, but almost every provision of the law has lines that are essentially "HHS Secretary has the discretion to do whatever s/he wants." That's why Sebelius is appointing people to that payment advisory board after Republicans refused to (it was supposed to be legislative appointments, half from each party), why she gets final say in approving all sorts of state Medicaid decision, why she gets to move funds around in ways that agencies aren't usually allowed, and why she can delay things so often.

If that's true, why was the Democratic senator quoted in NYT article so puzzled about the move?

Interesting. Of course, Douchebag-in-Chief Tom Corbett will no doubt rupture himself to defend the law, which may change the calculus, but this is still a good thing. I could totally see Kathleen Kane being Pennsylvania's first female governor, assuming Allyson Schwartz doesn't get there first.

I fail to see what's good about not doing her duty. She disagrees with the law, fine. But she is elected official not some dictator, she shouldn't be the one to pick which laws to defend and which not based on politics. Because if all you need to overturn the will of lawmakers/people is one sympathetic AG, whole system stinks.

[TerraPrime]

I actually agree. I think the PA AG should litigate and prosecute as the statute demands. Not only is it part of her job, but it will probably speed up the demise of said law by keeping the law suit in the courts and pushing it up the chain.

[Tormund Ukrainesbane]

Regardless of whether it's an important job or not, what does it say to the country we are sending an ambassador to when we send an unqualified hack whose only job requirement is naked bribery?

[TerraPrime]

Regardless of whether it's an important job or not, what does it say to the country we are sending an ambassador to when we send an unqualified hack whose only job requirement is naked bribery?

It says we have a surfeit of wealthy people and we follow the rules of politics as it is played the world over.

What, you think in those countries they have no bribery and corruption? Nobody likes a holier-than-thou neighbor.

[Mad Monkey]

I actually agree. I think the PA AG should litigate and prosecute as the statute demands. Not only is it part of her job, but it will probably speed up the demise of said law by keeping the law suit in the courts and pushing it up the chain.

I actually liked the House Republicans' solution to this, in which the legislature (Office of General Counsel) hired a lawyer to defend the DOMA. My concern with requiring the attorney general -- a political official -- to defend a law that it publicly condemns is that if they do defend it in court and lose it will open the door for suspicions and accusations that they botched the case deliberately because they wanted it to lose. If it's true, then that's even worse than condemning the law, and if it's not true it makes the whole process seem corrupt and theatrical, like a kangaroo court. But no one can say that Paul Clement was a shitty lawyer who deliberately botched DOMA; supporters might not like the outcome but at least they got a fair fight. They can't say, "Obama choose the rookiest lawyer in the DOJ to handle all of the briefs and that's why we lost."

I think if you ever have a situation like this, the legislature should hire its own counsel at taxpayer cost to defend the suit.

[Shryke]

It says we have a surfeit of wealthy people and we follow the rules of politics as it is played the world over.

What, you think in those countries they have no bribery and corruption? Nobody likes a holier-than-thou neighbor.

Man, the US is almost certainly LESS corrupt then most of the places they send ambassadors.

[Guest]

US deficit continues to fall:

June’s numbers are fairly stunning. In June 2012, the government notched a deficit of $59.7 billion. In June 2013, it rang up a surplus of $116.5 billion. I’ll repeat that: a surplus of $116.5 billion. The government collected $286.6 billion in revenues, up from $260.2 billion in June 2012, and spent only $170 billion, down from $320 billion in June 2012.

There were some quirks here. In the current fiscal year, a big chunk of spending (and some revenue collection) that usually takes place in June happened in May instead. And there was a big revenue asterisk, on which more later. But the trend is unmistakable. Through the first nine months of fiscal 2013, revenues are up 14.5 percent from the first nine months of fiscal 2012, while spending is down 4.8 percent in the same period. The result: the deficit for the first three quarters of this fiscal year was $509.8 billion, down 43.4 percent from $901 billion in the first nine months of fiscal 2012.

I wonder if Mr. Simpson and Mr. Bowles will change their tune?*

*No, I do not actually wonder

[TerraPrime]

Man, the US is almost certainly LESS corrupt then most of the places they send ambassadors.

No. My guess is that the U.S. is about average. It is too big and decentralized for things to be too obvious. Greased palms and mutual back-scratching make our societies run smoothly.

[The Iceman of the North]

No. My guess is that the U.S. is about average. It is too big and decentralized for things to be too obvious. Greased palms and mutual back-scratching make our societies run smoothly.

Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index of 2012 rank the US as the 19th least corrupt country, with a score of 73 of 100. Seems 'about average' is not quite correct.

[Shryke]

Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index of 2012 rank the US as the 19th least corrupt country, with a score of 73 of 100. Seems 'about average' is not quite correct.

Exactly.

[DanteGabriel]

If there's anyone from Illinois here, or even someone who pays a lot of attention to Illinois politics, I am curious what you think of this:

Gov. Pat Quinn suspended Illinois lawmakers’ pay on Wednesday, following through on his warning of consequences if they failed to come up with a solution to the state’s nearly $100 billion pension crisis.

The Chicago Democrat said he used his line-item veto power in a budget bill that was on his desk, and vowed to not accept a salary himself until a deal has been reached. Lawmakers, who receive an annual salary of $68,000 and additional pay for leadership positions, would have to vote to reject his changes if they want to get paid.

Quinn, who has made pension reform his main focus for nearly two years, said he wanted to spur lawmakers into action.

...

Illinois has nearly $100 billion in unfunded pension liability because lawmakers either skipped or shorted payments to the state’s five retirement systems for decades. Inaction on solving the pension problem -- the worst of any state in the nation, as measured by a Moody’s rating agency formula that compared liabilities to tax revenue — has led to repeated credit rating downgrades while governors from other states have used it as a basis to poach jobs from Illinois.

Quinn has set numerous hard deadlines, including two special sessions, for lawmakers to resolve the crisis, but none has produced any results. Members of a bipartisan panel charged with finding a compromise blew past another deadline Tuesday, saying they needed more time to crunch numbers and try to work out a deal that can get legislative approval. Quinn had warned there would be consequences for lawmakers although he had not outlined what he planned to do.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/illinois-gov-suspends-lawmakers-pay-over-pension-crisis.php?ref=fpblg

I understand this is probably more for PR and grandstanding so that Quinn can earn some public approval at the expense of the legislature, but at the same time I find it refreshing. I kind of wish Obama could do something similar just to get Congress to un-fuck itself. But I don't know what the background is and what actions have preceded this, so my perspective is pretty limited. The idea that a state can go decades without adequately funding its pensions is mind-boggling to me.

[DanteGabriel]

Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index of 2012 rank the US as the 19th least corrupt country, with a score of 73 of 100. Seems 'about average' is not quite correct.

I'd be curious to see how the US ranks in comparison to other Western republics -- like Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Australia, etc.

[Shryke]

I'd be curious to see how the US ranks in comparison to other Western republics -- like Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Australia, etc.

http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2012/results/

US is down with UK and Japan.

Canada is slumming it about 10 points up with Norway and the Netherlands.

Denmark, New Zealand and Finland are all about 5 points above that at the top.

[Shryke]

If there's anyone from Illinois here, or even someone who pays a lot of attention to Illinois politics, I am curious what you think of this:

http://talkingpoints...s.php?ref=fpblg

I understand this is probably more for PR and grandstanding so that Quinn can earn some public approval at the expense of the legislature, but at the same time I find it refreshing. I kind of wish Obama could do something similar just to get Congress to un-fuck itself. But I don't know what the background is and what actions have preceded this, so my perspective is pretty limited. The idea that a state can go decades without adequately funding its pensions is mind-boggling to me.

Pensions are in a whole lot of trouble across America. And other parts of the developed world too I believe.

And yeah, tricks like this shit has been how alot of governments in the US have been making ends meet.

[WrathOfTinyKittens]

I like that move in Illinois. The optics really favor the governor, and maybe it'll actually force them to get something done.

It is absolutely criminal that a state could shirk its funding obligations for so long.

[Fez]

If there's anyone from Illinois here, or even someone who pays a lot of attention to Illinois politics, I am curious what you think of this:

http://talkingpoints...s.php?ref=fpblg

I understand this is probably more for PR and grandstanding so that Quinn can earn some public approval at the expense of the legislature, but at the same time I find it refreshing. I kind of wish Obama could do something similar just to get Congress to un-fuck itself. But I don't know what the background is and what actions have preceded this, so my perspective is pretty limited. The idea that a state can go decades without adequately funding its pensions is mind-boggling to me.

Its necessary. Illinois pensions were just insanely over-the-top generous to state employees for far too long; far, far more generous* than what people could get from comparable positions elsewhere and far more expensive than the state could've ever afforded.

*For instance, most employees, including part-timers, can retire at age 55 if they've worked at least 20 years for the state and receive 80% of their salary annually as their pension. And I"m not just talking about police and firefighters, I mean regular state agency employees.