Comment & Debate
“Hear some arguments in favor of term limits.”: “Our legislature is designed to be made up of politicians of equal importance, but under the current system lawmakers who have served for a long time are able to dominate. This is true for a number of reasons. First, their experience gives them more political savvy. Second, more time spent in Washington allows them to establish many important connections. Additionally, the near-inevitability of reelection allows them to operate with little concern for the opinions of their constituencies. Most importantly, seniority determines who holds important positions like chairmanships of Congressional subcommittees. The problem with concentrating power in senior politicians is that while such inequality is often good for their constituencies – powerful congressmen can help ensure that a lot of federal funding goes into plans that help their district – it is often detrimental to the country as a whole. People reelect senior politicians because they will do a good job of bringing pork barrel spending to their home state, not necessarily because they agree with their beliefs about policy. The primary function of the Congress is to make major national laws, not allot funding to specific districts, but the lack of term limits gives voters an incentive to reelect senior politicians for specific regional interests rather than because they support what is good for the country as a whole.”