Green Makes all Policy Black and White

By Jim Meffert, Fellow for Community Stability, October 3, 2011 at 7:00 am

I was listening with interest to former GAO Director David Walker’s conversation with the St Paul Chamber of Commerce.

It centered on finding rational solutions to our economic and political paralysis. Given the role of money in politics, it’s easy to see why such a solution eludes us.

It’s a reality I faced running for Congress.

A congressional run takes an eight hour daily fundraising commitment. Most of that time is spent in a room on the phone leaving messages and talking with possible contributors.

Once elected, stakes rise. Congress people are expected to keep raising money, not only for their next run but to fund runs for other party members.

Building a war chest scares off potential challengers, funds a successful re-election campaign, and enhances status and power within the party – now other candidates have to come to you for money. In fact, both major parties carry ridiculous fundraising requirements for their members of Congress.

Time you could be meeting with a wider array of constituents and shaping solid policy is spent sitting in a cube, on the phone, raising money.

All of this gives members of Congress a skewed perspective on the challenges we face today.

When conservatives talk about fear and uncertainty among employers—they are correct. That’s because they spend eight hours a day on the phone raising money from people who share this perspective.

On the flip side, progressives spend hours a day raising money from people and organizations concerned with stagnant incomes, rising health care costs and declining retirement savings. All of these are the issues that are critically important to us; however, instead of acknowledging the complexities of each problem, many tend to just blame big business generically.

Policymakers on both sides become personal friends and confidants with their funders, making it difficult to craft broader policy that might work against funder’s interests.

Many of today’s elected leaders have trouble understanding that the small group of people they’re chasing for a contribution have a perspective, not the perspective.

The real story here is perspective. Campaigns’ financial realities along with few truly diverse districts allow leaders (at all levels of government) to avoid taking a broad look at the challenges facing our nation and state, stifling smart policymaking.

We must examine our system and find ways to get elected leaders and candidates out of a back room, off the phones and out talking to a wide variety of people with diverse perspectives. Otherwise, poor, one-sided and extreme ideas will continue dominating our public policy debates.

Posted in Fiscal Policy