Politics.
The process can be complex and confusing. It can seem stalemated and stagnated. But in spite of the cynicism with which Americans can look at the political process, there are major victories and gains that blooms through the cracks in a process that is sometimes as unforgiving as concrete.
One of the things that makes the system complex is this balance between achieving gains for the purse, the people, or the principle. I realize that politics is really a balancing act where all three are important to the effective governing and policy-making in America.
Sometimes they can be complementary to one another – accomplishing more than one “p” at once.
Other times, it may be the case that these three are mutually exclusive.
The Purse – Money has always been important. Almost everyday, I imagine there is some op-ed piece on government waste of tax dollars on the local, state or federal level. If it is not about waste overall, then it is about the impact certain programs will have on the federal budget. You have agencies such as the CBO, OMB and GAO which focuses solely on program evaluations and the problems being solved per federal dollar spent. Let’s admit it: when the government misuses funds, we get upset. If Americans are going to be taxed, they want the money to go to programs that they deem necessary – which leads to the next “p”.
The People - It seems quite obvious since America wrote the Declaration of Independence and then the U.S. Constitution on the principles that the government is “of the people, by the people, and for the people” to quote Honest Abe. But although the people elect their representatives in an open election process, the representatives themselves balance being the personification of what their constituents want and being the personification of what they believe their constituents need. Public opinion has not always been the final word on the policy decisions that have gone forth through history, but you cannot deny that it is an integral piece of the political puzzle.
The Principle – Often, policies go beyond what people may want in the short term, and may focus instead on a more altruistic goal that will have longer term benefits. It is a belief that the policy pursuit is bigger than the short-term impact and that the policy will show its worth in time.
Mutual exclusivity has its examples:
Purse: The Pay-As-You-Go system was put in place to check new programs that lacked plans to pay for them. This cut down on the number of ideas that simply passed Congress and came to Appropriations requiring money from a deficit-plagued purse. I think that this also limited the amount of programs that may have arisen that would actually help individuals, because it adds an additional level of consideration that ideas and initiatives have to pass before they are actually deemed “good”. But, pay-as-you-go was definitely a useful way to control rampant spending, in theory. A negative impact in my opinion? The current health care debate, where so much focus is being put on not adding to the federal deficit, that I think serious and aggressive plans are being discarded because they require something up front to reap longer-term benefits.
Principle: In the 70s, we could not afford a loss in Vietnam, so leaders stayed the course, in spite of cries from the people and the financial burden of the war. On another note, politicians have held fast to principles that in the long term have benefited us: i.e., enacting Social Security when majority of the public didn’t want it. Now, someone would get slapped for suggesting we just let social security “run out”.
People: The “majority” of the public was against women’s suffrage and civil rights for instance. But the voice of the people was trumped by the principles involved. On the plus side, the people cried out for shorter work days in the form of unions and got them.
Looking at these 3 P’s helps put current debates and political battles into context, as I try to rationalize the stagnation that occurs on matters such as health care reform. So as we move forward, and you look at health care reform, or other divisive issues, consider which P is getting the attention, and whether that is the most important focus for the short-term and long-term.
Popularity: 2%