Citizen Representative

"A government by representatives elected by the people at short periods was our object, and our maxim... was, 'where annual election ends, tyranny begins;' nor have our departures from it been sanctioned by the happiness of their effects." ~Thomas Jefferson

America was founded upon the principle of citizen representatives.. this was a govt of, by & for the people. It was NOT a nation of an elite ruling class, where everyone else was subservient to the edicts of the rulers. The PEOPLE were to rule. To make that possible, the people were to be the ruling board. The intent was for congresspersons to be elected by the people in the individual states, & senators with a short term elected by the state houses, & a president elected for a short term to run the executive branch. But this is not a history lesson. It is a call for a return to citizen representation, & the reasons for it.

Why would citizen representatives be better than a ruling class?

1. Power corrupts. It is the nature of power to corrupt those who have it. The only solution is a system of checks & balances, with term limits on those in power, so they are not intoxicated with the job.
The natural cure for an ill-administration, in a popular or representative constitution, is a change of men. ~Alexander Hamilton

2. Money corrupts. Public service should not be a means to riches. Subsistence should be the pay for public service. Governance is a trust, & elected representatives are trustees. There should be strict laws for corruption, graft, or any violation of the public trust. Conflicts of interest, with severe penalties need to be guarded against.

3. A ruling class promotes class division. If the representatives are citizens, they remain equal to those they represent. But the longer in power, they degenerate to a ruling class.

4. A ruling class builds a system or network of power. Influence becomes centralized with favor providers, electioneering, lobbyists, & a 'good ol' boy' network. A pecking order of power grows in the culture of a ruling elite, like a fungus. New representatives, with no allegiance to the power structure, destroys that culture. A constant flow of new people, appointed by the people, keeps the power base fresh & unfettered by networks of influence.

5. Citizen representatives are the people, & reflect their concerns & values. Professional politicians live in another world. They produce NOTHING. They are leeches on society, & pursue power & elitism, living in luxury on the backs of the working man. Regular working people have a better sense of fairness & what the country needs, & will work to represent the common folk, since that is what they are. Professional politicians become elitist, & degenerate to passing edicts down to the unwashed masses.
"All [reforms] can be... [achieved] peaceably by the people confining their choice of Representatives and Senators to persons attached to republican government and the principles of 1776; not office-hunters, but farmers whose interests are entirely agricultural. Such men are the true representatives of the great American interest and are alone to be relied on for expressing the proper American sentiments." ~Thomas Jefferson

Now, what things can we do to encourage citizen representation, & prevent the growth of a ruling elite?

1. Term limits. This is probably THE most important thing we can do, & is one of the major things that has corrupted our system. Life time politicians worm their way into power, & curry favor with the network, & grow in the system that perpetuates itself, rather than being stewards of the public trust. Term limits keep public service from being a career, & make it a gift from the citizens.. a true stewardship of service.
"My idea was that if they might be re-elected, they would be casting their eye forward to the period of election (however distant) and be currying favor with the electors and consequently dependent on them. My reason for fixing them in office for a term of years rather than for life was that they might have an idea that they were at a certain period to return into the mass of the people and become the governed instead of the governor, which might still keep alive that regard to the public good that otherwise they might perhaps be induced by their independence to forget." ~Thomas Jefferson

2. Subsistence. This is in the previous list, but since money is the most powerful corrupting influence to man, it appears here, too. To keep honest, sincere public servants, there must not be a draw for riches. Elected representatives should be compensated minimally.. perhaps minimum wage, for their service. SERVICE is the key word here, not compensation. They are stewards of the public treasury, & do not produce ANYTHING by their labor. They have no right to huge recompense & a luxurious lifestyle on the backs of the working man. It should not be a 'revolving door to riches' nor should public service provide other means to wealth. Conflicts of interest, graft, cronyism, nepotism, & other corrupting practices should be severely punished.
"Our public economy is such as to offer drudgery and subsistence only to those entrusted with its administration--a wise and necessary precaution against the degeneracy of the public servants."~Thomas Jefferson

Just these 2 limits would do wonders in our elective process, & weed out hundreds of shysters & scoundrels who think public service is a means to riches.

Almost ALL the problems in our governance can be traced to the problems that an elite, favor currying ruling class brings. They are NOT productive members of society, but see ruling as a way to become wealthy & powerful. They become intoxicated with power, money, & a celebrity status. They are infected by the network of power, & look to work their way up the ladder. It is a culture of infection. They become zombies.. the walking dead.. infecting anyone who comes in.. all of them staggering mindlessly around devouring the people.

What can be done to fix this?

This is the tough question. Sincere people get voted in, & are overwhelmed by the system of power & corruption. They will not limit their own power. They will not limit their own money. They will not cut their term of service, but lust for power & climbing the ladder of wealth & status.

IMO, it will take revolution from the people. Perhaps not actual violence, but the threat of it will need to be taken seriously for them to relinquish power. We must FORCE these limits.. they will not voluntarily impose them.

If the federal government should overpass the just bounds of its authority and make a tyrannical use of its powers, the people, whose creature it is, must appeal to the standard they have formed, and take such measures to redress the injury done to the Constitution as the exigency may suggest and prudence justify. ~Alexander Hamilton

In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution. ~Thomas Jefferson