Why can't ordinary people get appointed to government commissions?

[Stinky The Clown]

Ordinary people get appointed to juries every day of the week. If a major political leader were brought up on criminal charges, ordinary people would be asked to sit in judgment.

Why can't ordinary people sit on government commissions?

Remember BRAC? Yes, that was about some military strategy. But it also was about local economic issues. BRAC decisions had great (good and bad) influence over local economies. But only insiders without investment in the human scale outcomes got a seat at the table.

Remember the health care meetings just a little while ago? Remember the hue and cry about no single payer advocate even getting a seat at the table? Only the insiders got to shape that policy. The result is there for all to see.

And now the deficit commission sits. Where are ordinary seniors who depend on social security? Where are parents of children who depend on various federal programs for food and shelter? Where are Medicare recipients would could die if this or that detail of the program is changed?




Look at the constitution of any government panel or board. Virtually never do civilians get a seat at the table. Why is that?







Yeah, yeah ..... I know ......

[mmonk]

1. They might not want to keep getting raped.

[mike r]

2. They have to pass the means test

administered by Wall Street. And an oral exam.

[TransitJohn]

3. That wouldn't be sensible or pragmatic.

:sarcasm:

[Ozymanithrax]

4. Civilians? Most are Bureaucrats or former Bureaucrats. Many have some expertise in the area

covered by the commission. Those that don't, quite often are influential and can call on resources that most of us non bureaucrats do not have. At least a quarter are appointed as political favors. The favors part bothers me, but what could a government commission of our peers do that a group of experts and bureaucrats can not?

A regular jury or a grand jury is supposed to be peers, not experts.

[Stinky The Clown]

11. That's what staff is for.

There is a whole industry in DC called "staffers". Some are ideological. Some are technical experts. They come in all manner of size, shape, smell, and taste. The commission members do the considering and the voting. The staff does the heavy lifting, like research and draft writing. It isn't so hard at all. I dare say any of DU's better informed people could hold down a seat on a commission by virtue of common sense, political/ideological compass, and concern for the country and their fellow man. You don't need to be an economist to be on the Deficit Commission, for example. You just need to be able to ask questions like "who does that benefit?" "How does that get paid for?" "Who can best afford a tax increase to pay for this?"

[Ozymanithrax]

12. Hell, Stinky, I think you'd make a good member of any commission requiring critical thinking.

However, except for the obvious political toadies, who shouldn't sit on any thing, I still think people with some expertise should sit on a commission. Sometimes, expertise is needed to make choices between different technical aspects of a problem.

I mean look at Bush. He seemed so stupid that he must have needed help to unzip his pants, and his method of running a government was to ask someone what his choices were so he could make up his mind after he was told where his mind was. That was the same leadership style used by Saint Reagan.

People who make such decisions should have a clue. Equally, people who stand to profit from a commission should not sit on it either.

[Stinky The Clown]

13. I still think staff could fill the void in a committee person's experience base

You're right. People like Brittany Spears may well have some area of expertise, but economics isn't one on which I'd trust her. Actually, her basic judgment ought to come into question

The flip side is a person with a stake in an issue and an understanding of it. Not expertise, but an understanding.

[davidinalameda]

5. write a letter

unless it makes you feel more important to post things like this on here

[grasswire]

9. what kind of comment is that? (eom)

[Stinky The Clown]

10. Why do you post on here?

[Stinky The Clown]

15. I guess I really didn't expect an answer from you

[liberal N proud]

6. It's all about who you know and about who is in your pocket

Donate enough money and request an appointment and I bet you could get one.

[backscatter712]

7. Ordinary people aren't corrupt enough.

You have to be sociopathic enough to rise to the top by stomping on everyone below you, then use your wealth, scratch some political backs (which gets your back scratched as well), and you'll get a nice cushy appointment heading a regulatory agency, in return for making sure the regulators in your employ don't get in the way of the corruption.

[grasswire]

8. millionaires like Simpson need a salary too?

Actually, I think it's because Cheney and Bush have FIXERS everywhere.

I'm surprised that no one has called Simpson "Mr. Burns" yet.

[Solly Mack]

14. K&R