Our founders were thoughtful, prophetic in designing a constitutional federal republic for the birth of our nation.
It was a bold experiment of a democratic state where the president and congressional representatives were freely elected, and freedom of speech and the rights of its citizens were paramount. Like most transformational ideas this vision of governance needs to grow and evolve to meet the present-day needs of the country.
The current administration is carefully and deliberately testing all the boundaries of this creation to find the most effective way to subvert it and use its newfound powers for personal gain, subjugation of the people and to carry out persecution of all perceived enemies.
When Project 2025 was started no one viewed it as having any credible chance of success or could have predicted the re-election of this administration. There are needed changes to our current government to make it more responsive, pro-active and efficient that I think the vast majority of Americans would agree on.
I hope to join the conversation in what I think is needed and hopefully people with more ability will continue it. This is a long process and needs to be started now, assuming we survive the carnage and shame of those currently in power.
There have been crises in the past, such as the Great Depression, that necessitated a benevolent autocrat to repair the damage done. These instances are rare and the dangers of assigning this much power to an individual can be immense. We have to reverse our course of providing ever more executive authority and letting the heart of the government function as it should.
Our government employs over 2 million dedicated, motivated and highly competent individuals to run our diverse and complicated system of governance. They rightly view the government as a service organization that is by the people and for the people. We are outraged when an event like Katrina occurs because there is a high expectation for the government to respond to all emergencies expeditiously and competently. That expectation is built on the track record of the accomplished, yet underappreciated public sector workforce.
A career workforce will always be more capable than political appointees. There are always some who are obstructive bureaucrats, but the vast majority are helpful and mission focused. No politician was re-elected on the phrase “We have a crisis that is going to require great personal sacrifice. I know you’re all with me.”
When our doctor, dentist or financial advisor provides somber advice we take it to heart and make the appropriate changes. When a politician does the same it’s “Throw the bums out.” Politicians should give advice and consent as well as provide direct representation, but the daily government operations should be run by qualified individuals with long term tenure and expertise for problems that persist well beyond the brief news cycle and our shortened attention spans. Their tenure shouldn’t be compromised by every political cycle and change in public sentiment.
The following are recommendations based on my personal opinion. It is not my intent to issue a dictum but to provoke a conversation to enact changes that are desperately needed.
Judicial appointees (especially the Supreme Court) should not be elected or appointed by elected officials. Their purpose is to provide impartial adjudication and to seek justice where possible, not merely interpret the law. Bi-partisan committees that would appoint judges could be chosen by the same way that we select juries.
Cabinet officials that are heads of departments should have a ten year appointment. They can only face early termination for cause mediated by a bi-partisan committee.
All of Congress should have a single 8-year term. Currently House members are constantly running for re-election which is a breeding ground for corruption. One quarter of the House and Senate would have elections every two years so that the electorate can express displeasure without being unnecessarily disruptive. Employment after public service should exclude any potential conflicts of interest.
The president should have a single six-year term. There should be some mechanism for a recall after three years, but it should require a very high threshold to enable. Electoral college should be reconsidered.
Presidential power should be trimmed back as much as possible. The presidential office is not the vehicle to solve al problems, nor should it be. It is primarily for executive management in times of war or crisis and to provide an ideological direction to management, not to subjugate the people to the president’s whims or eccentricities, nor to micro-manage the rest of the government.
The majority of government jobs should be based on meritocracy. Competency should be a guarantor of tenure. Any major change should follow an established system of review.
The rules for passing bills in the House and Senate should be reconsidered. Perhaps a 55% threshold for all legislation would prevent some hyper-partisan ill- considered legislation.
Walter Meltzer lives in New Milford
