the role of government

It appears some individuals see the role of government as one of a facilitator of certain (business) interests. These interests are the ones that selected the candidate and ensured his or her success. It is a slightly more cynical view than that of politicians simply returning favors to campaign contributors, however bad you may think that is. Here we have individuals being promoted by business interests and seeking election so they can influence the bottom line of said interests.

These politicians are de facto employees of a business. Their one and only goal is to promote the success of that business each and every day. They have no other professional interests and the words "public service" mean very little to them. Apart from their job, they may have some personal interest in putting a stamp on things, or leaving a legacy, or otherwise flattering their egos. But only to the extent that this does not interfere with their job. It is one of the brownie points awarded to them by the corporations they work for.

These employees do not come to Washington with an open mind. They do not seek to find solutions to problems, nor do they want to compromise other than on a very superficial level. Their goal is to make sure the public believe in them and package the business goals in such a way to ensure acceptance. Their dialogue is a monologue crafted by Madison avenue that says all the right things but commits to nothing of substance. They use the inertia of the bureaucracy to their maximum advantage. At times they use outright deception. But most of the time they are happy just to divert attention away from their real goals. Like magicians on stage, they entertain while performing the real work outside of public scrutiny.

And so they tackle real problems that worry corporate heavyweights. How to get control over Iraqi oil. How to ensure that the Sudan crisis does not get out of hand -by this we mean that the protests do not derail our friends in the oil business. How to soothe worries about global warming without affecting profit margins. The list goes on.

Often the best way to deal with a nasty problem is to promise to do something about it in the future. Or to make a bold statement without any follow-on action. Or to plan further meetings to discuss the issues in more detail. Or to set up some working groups and committees. In most cases, that will make the issue go away and soon enough everyone will have forgotten what the fuzz was all about. Or at the very least they will be distracted by some other, more urgent matter.

Let's try to fix greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. Heck that should be long enough into the future to avert any danger. Danger to our profit margins that is. Who knows what will happen in 2025? It is for a future generation to worry about. But perhaps more importantly, it shows we care. It shows the public that we take them seriously. We will fix their worries in 2025.