A majority of Michigan residents surveyed for a new poll released this morning support a reform that would allow Michigan legislators to serve 14 years in either the House or the Senate.
Likewise, a majority of those polled favored allowing veteran legislators to return to the capitol after a brief “time out” period following their constitutionally required removal due to term limits.
Read the full poll here, courtesy of Michigan State University’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research. Read MSU’s press release here.
Why is this such a big deal? Because, for years, there has been a huge gulf of perception between Joe and Josephine Sixpack and just about anybody who has to deal with the legislature on any topic.
Those who work in Lansing have seen a steady erosion in institutional knowledge, policy expertise, bipartisanship and trust, and an unwillingness to take stands and make votes on tough issues since Michigan passed term limits in the early 1990s. Michigan’s ongoing state budget stalemate (the second in the past three years) is Exhibit 1 in the Legislature’s dysfunction.
But public polls have shown overwhelming support for term limits.
MSU Economist Charley Ballard, who oversees the State of the State poll, called the new revelations on term limits nothing short of “stunning.”
The poll certainly adds momentum to the Bipartisan Caucus in the House which plans to push legislation next year that would relax term limits to 14 years in either chamber in return for new restrictions on legislator pay — if they don’t pass a budget by early summer, they don’t cash a paycheck.
Ok, Bipartisan Caucus, your ship is launched and the wind is in your sails. Get moving!
10 Comments
YES TO TERM LIMITS IN THE BEGINNING THE GOVERNMENT WAS MADE UP OF PEOPLE WHO WANTED GOOD FOR THE UNITED STATES. THEY TOOK TIME FROM THEIR BUSY SCHEDULE AND GAVE MUCH TIME TO THIS COUNTRY. AS IN THE BEGINNING, THEY KNEW THAT ANYONE IN FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME IS ONLY FOR PERSONAL GAIN. THAT IS WHAT WE HAVE TODAY.
I THINK THE TERM LIMITS ARE GOOD THE WAY THEY ARE. WE SHOULD HAVE A REASONABLE AGE LIMIT FOR STATE AND FEDERAL
IT IS MENTIONED THAT TERM LIMITS SHOULD NOT CAUSE THIS CURENT BUDGET MESS. WELL IF THEY WERE IN THERE LONGER IT WOULD HAPPEN MORE OFTEN. THIS TIME IT WAS THE GOVENOR NOT THE HOUSE OR SENATE THAT CAUSED THE MESS. IF THE GOVENOR WAS TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS IT WOULD HAVE HELPED. IN ADDITONL, THEY ALL HAVE THEIR SPECIAL INTEREST AND HERS IS THE TEACHERS UNION. ARKANSAS PRODUCED A PRESIDENT ELECTED TWICE AND MICHIGAN ONLY HAD A NON ELECTED PRESIDENT AND HE MOVED TO CALIFORNIA. CUT THE BLEEDING, RUN IT LIKE A BUSINESS NOT BY WHO CRIES THE LOUDEST.
In the private sector it is common to find that management positions are not occupied for long periods of time.
Unlike elected office, individuals rise through the ranks with (hopefully) a demonstration of competence and a focus on forwarding the purpose of the organization. They do develop networks and rely upon “Institutional memory” and employee expertise to achieve goals. They derive these essentials from the professionals that do the actual work.
Successful managers demonstrate the ability to assess employees performance, listen, trust in the competence of the professionals hired to do well defined tasks and to provide leadership to those tasked to forward the purpose of the organization.
Maybe the problems forwarding the purpose of this state are lack of clear purpose and, to quote Boorstin:
“The main obstacle to progress is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge.”
Somehow we think allowing elected officials to spend longer periods of time in Lansing will make up for our elected representatives inability or unwillingness to listen.
Washington’s gridlock over health care legislation is a concrete example of this myopia. Despite long terms for incumbent legislators institutional memory and leadership fall prey to “bad professionalism” which consists in being arrogant about having the right answers, paying more attention to credentials than talent, automatically opposing new ideas, defaulting to jargon. Oh, and then there is money. (Fully explained in the book “Reset”)
Term limits are a symptom, and removing them is not the solution.
We should allow an increase in term limits by only a vote of the people. But our legislators and rule making authorities must be more accessible/visible to the masses. If the people see what they like in thier common sense, morality, etc, they should be able to keep them in, the rest of thier lives.
Best news I’ve seen in a long time. As a former city council member in Ann Arbor, I know that even at that level, it takes a certain amount of time to get to know your fellow members; to get to know how city finances work; to know not only your ward but also the city as a whole. And most people who run do not know all this before they serve.
I am really appalled at our state legislature. But why should they worry because they are limited in what they will know and what they will be remembered for.
At the very least, they need longer terms if the voters believe they are doing a good job.
First I am trying to understand what expertise it takes to be an elected offical. Once I understand that then I can better grasp how it takes time to develop that expertise. Until I can gain that understanding I will resist changes in the term limits.
I am not clear on the necessity in developing personl relationships in a work environment. There are many global orgainziation that seem to function very well with people working together from around the workd who have never met except on a conference call or via Email.
Even better we go to part-time legilators as all the other states save California do.
What I would rather see is that there be a 3 day public review (where people could actually read the) legislation of before it being voted on.
Our representatives in DC do not have term limits. Has it been helpful to have the institutional memory there?
Term limits are voter cop outs. There is no need for such legislation if voters would exercise their franchise. Lansing has become a joke of a place because there are a bunch of amateurs running the state government and they have an absolute inability to govern effectively because they are too busy posturing.
Why have the people not grasped this?
1. The very idea of term limits is undemocratic. We should not adopt rules that deny the people the right freely to elect their leaders.
2. Rules cannot produce quality leadership. Vilify the political class as we will, only vigilant citizens will ensure that those we elect will perform in the public interest. Term limits do what they say: they limit terms. Where is the logic that says limiting terms produces quality government?
3. Anybody who thinks changing the length of the limited terms will answer these basic flaws is kidding themselves.
4. The only remedy for the problem of term limits is to get rid of them comletely.
Terms limits are intended to address the paradox that huge majorities think Congress does a terrible job (80%) but like their individual legislator (60%), i.e. he/she does a good job for the district. Legislators tend to see their job as returning pork to their district. This leads to the problem that “My pig (legislator)is bigger and stronger than your pig.” (The metaphor gets confused but everyone knows what this means.) The bigger, stronger pig at the trough gets more — for themselves and their district. The impartial way voters came up with to stop the contest is to make all pigs fairly weak through term limits. If there is a better way, someone needs to propose it.
I have never been more disappointed in the State as I am today with the current group of self-serving politicians that we have in office here. We need to get rid of term limits and then clean house of the group of senators and legislators that we have today. They have cut the State to bare bones, over $10 billion dollars since the year 2000, shaved over 10,000 jobs since Engler days and they have not brought the State in to any kind of prosperity. Even now they have balanced the budget on the backs of poor people in Michigan. Stimulus monies which were supposed to be used to create jobs have been used to plug holes in the State budget. Now Obama will be blamed for the lack of jobs that has been created by the stimulus monies. What a waste of money when these dollars could have created jobs. These monies will not be available for next year which is an election year. So instead of raising revenue we will have 20% more in cuts which will place us in the toilet. No politician is going to examine the failed tax system we have in Michigan during an election year. Schools are losing funding, our roads are the worst in the nation, the money going to local counties have dropped considerably causing a drop in the police and fire protection we have. If we don’t invest in our public schools and universities then there will be only lower paying jobs as salaries are being driven downward. Research other states and you will find that the ones with the lower tax bases does not translate to good economic conditions. If the non-profit sector is destroyed, then this is a group that also pays taxes, buys homes and groceries, and votes. These jobs are no less precious for the State. They are more apprised to the true realities of the budget rather than the average citizen in Michigan that is being lied to by partisan politics. They know that there are really very few general fund dollars that the lawmakers have control of. Most of the dollars in the state are federal match dollars that, once you lose, you don’t get them back. Monies like Medicaid, transportation dollars, and other federally matched funds. It is time to look at the tax loopholes that many groups enjoy in this state. Pretty soon no one will be paying taxes. Parks will be gone, roads will be gone, class sizes will be 100 or more in a class room, all of the extracurricular activities in the schools will be paid for by parents, busing will go away, etc. Students leaving universities are leaving the state as well. We are educating them to have the brightest of minds leave the state and go where the state will invest in them. Wake up Michigan as you are ending up being the loser with this group of combatants in Lansing.