A couple of news items this morning caught my eye and my ire. The first was that three initiatives circulated by the Las Vegas Sands and owner Sheldon Adelson were submitted to the County Registrar of Voters for verification yesterday. The second was that the Teacher’s Union reached a deal with three gaming companies to keep another initiative off the ballot but place an advisory question regarding an increase in the gaming tax.
I am not going to discuss the merits of any of the initiatives. I haven’t read them in their entirety and I’m sure they will be challenged in court. I cannot find fault with people using the means currently in place to ensure their interests are protected. I am going to discuss the process.
The initiative process is the wrong place to determine public policy. This needs to be done in the legislative branch of government. As the bill works through the committee and sub-committee process, it is vetted for potential pratfalls and loopholes. Areas of contention are addressed prior to a bill becoming law. All of this is skipped in the initiative process.
The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act (I think that was the name) is a good example of why the process is flawed. Many states and counties had passed similar ordinances banning smoking in public indoor spaces. I would assume that similar attempts to pass one in Nevada were thwarted by the gaming lobby. So, in an effort to get something passed, the backers of the initiative specifically excluded the major casinos. Once passed, it was challenged and the criminal portion was thrown own, leaving the Health District to enforce the act – something they are not equipped to handle. So, the act is actually being interpreted differently in different parts of the state and you have these hokey efforts to meet the letter of the law, but not the spirit. Some restaurants closed their kitchens altogether others during off-peak hours. Some just flagrantly don’t enforce the act.
Many of these issues would have been avoided if we would have followed the “how a bill becomes a law” process we all learned in 5th grade. The language would have been crafted with court challenges in mind. The enforcement of the law would have been clear. And it would have been enforced consistently throughout the state. But the issue is that since the Legislative branch has done little, other than rubber stamp a budget, for the last 10 or so years it is no wonder that interested parties are reaching out to the initiative process.
The solution is to elect leaders who have the backbone to make tough decisions facing the state. Our elected officials need to act in our best interest, not those of the special interests. We, the citizens whom elect these individuals to serve us, need to keep an eye on our elected officials to make sure they are spending our tax dollars wisely and acting in our best interests.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Your last paragraph says it all.
Problem? Many politicians simply don't back up their campaign promises. Then, they don't want to lose their position, so they compromise their beliefs. Once that's done, they have the power of incumbency which usually gets them reelected.
We're screwed.
To a large extent I think we (the electorate) get what we deserve. By that I don't intend to let politicians off the hook for failing to lead, or to minimize the many broken pieces of process. But in our system We The People do still have the ultimate say, and we're reaping what we've sown.
An electorate that's engaged and informed can make our system work, but most voting-eligible citizens are neither. Instead they either don't vote at all, or many vote based on feelings that candidates engender. For example, how many presidents have swept into the Oval Office riding promises of "change" and "breaking Washington gridlock"? Every one I can remember. They say this because people feel tired of current problems, and a promise of "change," (regardless of what exactly that might entail) sounds good. Yet with every president in my adult lifetime promising a new era of bipartisanship and positive change, has Washington culture really changed? I don't think much.
Politicians learn that to win you have to play the game by the rules. So while I cringe every time politicians fail to show backbone and lead, I realize that few who do last long in politics. The electorate is the only group powerful enough to change the rules, but with some small exceptions, we don't. We re-elect incumbency, (D)'s and (R)'s after names, successful pork barrel tacticians, and speeches that line up with the polling data.
Guess it's my turn to ramble - sorry about the mental meandering. I just don't think we engage like we should in general. I'd rather have a interesting debate with an educated person who disagrees with me, civil enough that we try to throw more light than heat, and each vote our views any day. But such conversations seem hard to find.
Fred - I think the issue is that politicians get sucked in and don't have the courage or conviction to stand up for what they believe in. They want to do what will get them re-elected.
Matt - I agree wholeheartedly. Being an American requires advanced citizenship. It's a bit like any relationship - it takes work and lots of it. If we the electorate took a more engaged approach to gridlock on the local, State or National level I think a whole lot more would get done.
I agree with you. It would be nice if people actually cared to be informed.
I entirely understand what you mean about the initiative process. I feel that this is just another way to push bills containing pure rhetoric around the much needed vetting of the legislative body. It is the sad state or our system that allows this.
Post a Comment