kj came up with a gem today that captures my feelings on the upcoming election pretty effectively. He’s right; it’s the same old issues with the same old gang of idiots schlepping the same old bullshit.
I was speaking with a few friends yesterday who work with a minister’s office in town. Apparently, once the elections are called, the minister no longer does any work until the election is over. This is because once an election is called, they are no longer the policy makers because what they say from the time the election is called may not represent the policy of the government that will take power following the election.
Ok, I buy that reason, and it makes sense from a certain point of view (not mine, but I’m not going to get into that now – maybe later). My big question is “Why do they continue to get paid?” If they are no longer representing the taxpayers, then said taxpayers should be informed that there will no longer be any policy decisions made, and that all the ministers (and their DMs and ADMs)are on unpaid leave until the election is over.
Their primary role is to set policy, because the thousands of folks who work under them are the ones who keep things rolling day-to-day. If they’re no longer setting policy, then they’re superfluous since no one will be making any “big decisions” until well after June 29th. I know it’s not their fault they’re in this situation, but that should be one of the risks associated with being a political hack.
I’m being unreasonable and unrealistic, but I don’t care. I just find it amazing that they stop doing anything, and it’s ok by everyone. One more reason why I’d wish our gummint would actually stop focusing on issues such as healthcare and education, and focus on the administrative mess that manages the end product. That’s where the efficiencies need to be made, because that’s where a huge portion of the money goes.
It’ll never happen, though, because all the attention is pushed to the end products that people care about. *sigh*