ThisIsCommonSense.org

In a democratic republic, we control our government largely by voting.

That’s why it’s a so sad to see the low voter turnout in so many elections. Is there a way to fix this? Some people argue we should slap fines on people who fail to vote or even throw them in jail to rot alongside axe-​murderers, and other non-​voters. A number of countries do it this way, but frankly, I’m glad I don’t live in those countries.

Fact is, there’s little to vote on these days. The legislative districts are skewed toward one party and incumbents rarely face credible challengers. I can’t blame someone for not going to the polls when there isn’t anything to vote for. People tend to do what is in their interest. So instead of trying to force people to vote, why not give them something to vote for?

States where citizens can place laws directly on the ballot enjoy about 5 percent higher voter turn-​out than the other states. Just the other day, there was a local election in Nashville, Tennessee. Such local elections usually suffer very low turnout sometimes under 10 percent. Yet, Nashville’s election saw a 33 percent increase in voter participation. Why? Term limits opened up a majority of the 40 council positions as well as the mayor’s office.

So the people of Nashville had a lot of candidates running and much more competitive elections. In short, they had something to vote for. Same thing happened in states like California, Michigan, and Colorado and cities like New Orleans and Kansas City.

Hey, I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we try term limits everywhere?

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Times are good. We know this first by checking our bank balances and second by hearing every politician under the sun grab the credit.

Pollsters often ask, “Who deserves credit for the good economy, the President or the Congress?” Some choice! Either way, politicians get the gold star. But one polling outfit, Rasmussen Research, asked the question a different way, giving three choices: the President, Congress or American business?

More than 70 percent said American business deserves the credit. Columnist David Broder writes that politicians “have made their constituents’ wallets fatter.” Senator Robert Byrd says Congress should spend the money they’ve “made” by “managing” the economy. But Congress isn’t a business that makes profits on goods and services. All of the money pouring into the federal purse comes from you and me in taxes.

Henry David Thoreau had a more accurate view of Washington’s economic wizardry. He pointed out: “Government never of itself furthered any enterprise, but by the alacrity with which it got out of the way. The character inherent in the American people has done all that has been accomplished; and it would have done somewhat more, if the government had not sometimes got in its way.”

Thoreau was right. We can applaud the President and the Congress to the degree they stay out of the way of American workers, managers and entrepreneurs and let the good times roll. But no amount of Washington spin can rob the American people of the credit we deserve. We’re the ones making the money.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Some people have no business giving advice.

For instance, Howard Stern shouldn’t give advice on etiquette or diplomacy. Nor should Dennis Rodman tell us how to blend into the crowd. When it comes to advice on how to be frugal and guard our tax dollars, it ought not come from Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia.

Byrd is known as the king of pork barrel spending, having tried to move whole agencies of the federal government to his home state at what would have been an enormous cost to the taxpayers. If all his pork-​barreling actually benefited the people, West Virginia would be the wealthiest state in the country. It’s not. It’s one of the poorest.

But of course, none of this stops Senator Byrd from pouring forth advice like a leaky fountain. Byrd complains in an article entitled “Time for Truth In Spending” that many of his pet programs are “facing crippling budget reductions under the current budget caps.” Yet, the budget caps allow more spending every year. There are no cuts.

The truth? One cannot teach an old Byrd new tricks. He wants to keep spending, always more and more. During the Senator’s 41 years in Washington our national debt has grown 20 times over from just under $283,000,000,000 to more than $5,682,000,000,000. Thanks for standing guard Mr. Byrd, but no thanks.

Senator Byrd created the fiscal mess, spending us nearly into bankruptcy. Frankly, his advice is for the birds.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

My wife and I are expecting a new baby. Needless to say, we’re excited.

But just the other day we got some bad news: our unborn child is already very deeply in debt.

According to recent estimates, a child born this year will have to pay $100,000 in federal taxes just to pay interest on the $5.5 trillion of national debt. That doesn’t include one penny to defend the country during the baby’s lifetime or any other federal program.

It doesn’t take into account state or local taxes, schools or roads. Nor does that include payroll taxes for Social Security. Those will be grabbing a bigger and bigger bite from future generations especially if politicians keep raiding the money we pay in.

My child is being stuck with a $100,000 tax bill to pay for the excesses of career politicians who’ve been pleasing every special interest under the sun before the baby was even born.

Steve Moore of the Cato Institute in Washington calls this “fiscal child abuse.” He’s right. The politicians in Washington regularly use their supposed concern for children to justify spending more and more on programs that don’t work.

If they really cared about kids they’d stop mortgaging their future. To me, the birth of a baby is like winning the lottery. So even career politicians piling up debts and sending my kid the bill can’t spoil this wonderful event. But what Congress is doing is child abuse and we’ve got to stop it.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

There is a benefit to experience. And that’s why we don’t need experienced politicians. Confused? Don’t be, it’s simple.

We need representatives who are experienced in the real world, not in politics. One of the hottest issues today is healthcare and HMOs. Many people can tell you horror stories about bad decisions made by HMOs and about the problems facing our healthcare providers as well as patients. Many of the problems have been caused, not by the healthcare industry or doctors; they’ve been caused by politicians who try to dictate solutions from Washington for problems they don’t know anything about.

Yet, this may change. A headline in The Washington Post says “GOP Doctors in the House Put Patients Before Party.”

Representatives Tom Coburn and Greg Ganske are medical doctors and both have pledged to limit their time in Congress. Coburn will leave after this term. Ganske will leave in 2004. Coburn and Ganske are citizen legislators who put their public trust first ahead of a political career. They have the guts to battle their colleagues in order to do what’s right for the people.

Whether Washington politicians have any business legislating about the relationship between a doctor and a patient is a darn good question. But like it or not, the politicians are legislating in the healthcare field. At least we can be thankful there are congressmen who aren’t professional politicians. They have real world experience.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

What would you say if you heard that in some banana republic somewhere the national government came in and canceled a local election? Sounds like a dictatorship, doesn’t it? Well, it happened last year in America.

A group of citizens in Washington, D.C. went through all the legal requirements to put an initiative on the ballot. They drafted a statute, collected thousands of signatures and campaigned among their fellow citizens for a change in policy.

Then, just days before the election, our Congress ordered city officials not to count or report the people’s votes. Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia led the charge to strip the citizens of Washington, DC of their voting rights. Now that the prohibition is about to expire, Mr. Barr wants to extend it.

The ballot issue is a controversial one: allowing sick patients to use marijuana if prescribed by a doctor. Doctors and politicians disagree strongly on this matter though it should be noted that in the 11 statewide elections, voters have endorsed the use of marijuana for medical purposes every time.

U.S. Term Limits, my group, certainly takes no position on the Medical Marijuana Initiative. But we do have an opinion on politicians arrogantly denying voters a chance to have their votes counted and reported. We’re against it.

Career politicians think they can dictate to us as if they were our rulers, instead of our servants. But for cryin’ out loud, this is America! Let’s count the votes.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.