I have been thinking about our system of government in the United States. Winston Churchill stated: “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.” I agree.

I think one of the problems is that we have evolved from a concept of part time politicians (think of the Founding Fathers in the 1770s) to full time politicians who consider serving an entire career in politics at the local, state, and national levels. There are families which have passed their positions on to their sons and grandsons. I think that this is not a good idea, and even worse in practice.

Does this mean that there are political families in the United States who do not merit their positions? No, that is not what I said. They have to stand for office, and must persuade their constituents to vote for them at each election. But the continuation of a family tradition is conducive to establishing in the electorate a habit of automatically voting for a family name. I do not think this is a good thing in a representative democracy.

Is there a small modification to how we elect our public officials to remove this possible problem? I think so. I would like to suggest that some changes be instituted in how our representative government works. As much as I am uneasy about the idea, I think that we, as an electorate, should consider the establishment of term limits. These term limits should be worked out and applied at every level. We do so for the President of the United States (only two terms allowed). Why not consider an extension of the concept for all elected political offices? This would be at the national, state, and local levels. People would run for office because they wish to support their fellow citizens, and obtain experience which will allow them to be capable of playing more prominent and higher roles with greater responsibilities. In addition, there arises the potential reduction of graft and corruption at every level. Graft and corruption in government is as old as the concept of government itself. If a politician stays in office as a lifetime job he (or she) is potentially vulnerable to the inducements of feathering their own nests. And, given their political power, they make potential prey for special interests. One way to stop this, or at least hinder it, is to have term limits for all offices.

I am suggesting that all publicly elected offices from the Presidency of the United States down to the election of the local dog catcher, should have term limits. I am not proposing how long these should be, but I think they should exist. For example, there should be only five terms for a member of the House of Representatives. I don’t suggest that this necessarily be the number; but I do suggest that there should be a number. Now, for a little additional changes. Once a member of the house has run the gamut of the number of terms, they cannot be elected again for that generic position (being a member of the House) until the same number of terms has passed while they are out of office. So, continuing the example, if a member is elected to the House of Representatives for five terms, then they cannot run for that office again until five terms (ten years) has passed. They can immediately run for other office (Governor of the State, Senator from the State, etc.) But they can’t run for a House Seat for ten years.

One major objection concern will be the lack of experience in our elected officials. I suggest that this might be overcome by continuing to have professional employees of the local, state, and national governments. But, now I would like to suggest that if they are professional employees, then cannot run for political office: ever. They can participate in the representative process either as elected members of the government, with associated term limits, or, they can be professionals with appropriate skills, but can’t run for public office. A nice balance of forces. The elected politicians, in essence, steer the ship of state; the professional employees make it work.

What else do I suggest? There is no question that external forces will make an effort to influence the political process through bribery and coercion. But now the organizations with chicanery in their heart will have to work in reduced time. And the pressure of making things rapidly happen generally means that mistakes will be made. Good. We will catch more of them on both the political side and the business, unions, and others who wish to coerce our public servants. In addition, I suggest that there be an increase in the severity of the penalties if they are caught. Not substantial increases, but enough for those to understand that getting caught will have very serious, permanent consequences. For example, no political office can ever be held again, nor can they ever again work for the public in a professional capacity. And the firms will suffer severe, but not necessarily fatal, economic consequences.

I want ambitious, active citizens to run for lots of political offices in our representative democracy. I want the applicants and entrants in the race for public office to be successful, and I want them to take postures which will help their fellow citizens. I do not want to establish family legacies who will serve and eat at the public trough for generations.

Will this mean smooth sailing for the future? It does not. But it will make things come to a steady boil which is good for all concerned: the public, the government, and the government employees.