How To Fix The Country Without Politicians

Let's consider how little the American political class has achieved over the past four decades. During this time period, the Republicans and Democrats both took turns at being President and controlling Congress:

• In the 1960s, Nixon declared war on drugs but today the drug problem is worse than ever with narco states developing to our south and inside some of our major urban areas.
• In the 1970s, Carter muddled through the energy crisis but today we are no closer to having a strategic and effective national energy plan in place.
• In the 1980s, Reagan commissioned a panel which identified the deficiencies in public education in this country with its landmark report, "A Nation At Risk" but today we still have a failing public education system that is worse than the majority of countries around the world.
• In the 1990s, Clinton had ample warning to put together an anti-terrorism strategy and infrastructure, given the numerous attacks on America during his terms (USS Cole, first World Trade Center bombing, African embassy bombings, etc.), but today we are still trying to cope with widespread and growing terrorism threats.
• For decades we have had leaky borders which has resulted in millions and millions of illegal aliens in the country.
• For decades we have known that Social Security and Medicare funding levels were not sustainable but no one stood up to adjust the programs for long term viability.
• For decades health care spending in this country has been escalating quickly with no viable solution in sight.

There is no need to go on, I think you get the point. We have sent trillions of taxpayer dollars to the political class in Washington and have really gotten no solutions in return. Four decades of high taxation but drugs are still a problem, our energy supplies are vulnerable, public education doesn't educate, we are constantly on guard for terrorists, illegal aliens are everywhere, and major lifeline social programs are heading for bankruptcy. I also think that we cannot expect solutions from the political class, after four decades they probably would have solved some problem by now. Whether they cannot solve them because they are not smart enough, they are too lazy, or they do not want to solve them, the bottom line is they have not fixed anything and, in many cases, we are worse off than before.

Now, let's look at some other historical events that were a government success:

• The Manhattan Project helped develop a new technology in record time that led to the atomic age.
• The Apollo Moon program successfully put US astronauts on the surface of the moon and returned them safely.
• The Grace Commission analysis and recommendations in the 1970s produced significant cost savings in government operations.
• The Reagan panel on public education mentioned above did produce an excellent report and set of recommendations on how to improve education in this country (even if the political class never implemented the plans.)
• The 9-11 Commission did a thorough analysis of the breakdowns in security relative to terrorist attacks and its recommendations were implemented to improve security.

What is the difference between this second list of accomplishments and the first list of failures? In the second list, the political class funded the project, staffed the effort with smart/non-politican Americans, and then got out of the way. FDR did not develop the physics of nuclear energy, Einstein did. Kennedy did not calculate launch trajectories for Apollo, NASA scientists did. In the first list, politicians tried unsuccessfully to solve the problems.

Thus, vital steps in "Love My Country, Loathe My Government" is the establishment of independent expert panels to address the drug, education, illegal alien, health care costs, and energy problems in this country. Congress would fund the panels and then GET... OUT... OF... THE... WAY as the panels of smart Americans figure out the solutions similar to the second list of successes above. Each panel would develop a handful of viable alternative plans that voters would then decide which ones to implement, Congress and the rest of the political class would be not part of the solution. For those of us who have followed the current health care reform exercise, it is pretty obvious that the political class is incapable of even being civil to each other, never mind being able to analyze complex problems and come up with solutions. I am tired of waiting, four decades is enough for me.