The real legislative failure

It is fair to say; the just finished legislature failed to fix most of our most serious problems.

It is also fair to say; many of the problems could have been solved if the people were meaningfully involved in the solution creating process.

For example; problems in education could have been solved, if the people, teachers with hundreds of thousands of years of teaching experience between them, sat at the table where this year's solutions were created.

The proof that we have no seat at the table where our power and resources are being spent, is self evident; we don't know how either is being spent. There are still doors between the people and decision making that affects their interests. There are still, public records being hidden from public knowledge. There is still, no robust webcasting to a searchable archive.

The first responsible use of power is to ensure that the power cannot be abused, ever, by anyone. The greatest weapon against abuse is transparency; transparency limited only by due process and the law. The greatest failure of this legislature was their failure to provide for us, the government we deserve; government that is transparently accountable to the people.

There are at least three kinds of legislators;

1. those who fought for transparent accountability in politics and public service to its practical limits.
   
   
2. those who fought against transparent accountability.
   
   
3. those who chose to not fight at all.
   
   They are actually members of group two.
   They joined simultaneously with their choice to
   not stand in group one.

The first are a handful at most.

As for the second group, their number harder to quantify, though clearly large enough achieve their goal. You can't count them, none of them stands up with a standard in their hands. There is no champion of incompetence and corruption. They are for the most, in hiding. Their considerable obstruction can not be traced to them.

And then the third group. Their number is hard to quantify as well. There is no champion of the complacent and cowardly. No one proclaims their membership. The only thing we know about their number is, it is large enough to enable those in the second group to have their way with control over our power and our resources.

Third groupers are identifiable.

All you have to do is ask them where they got their nose bloodied in a fight for transparent accountability in government. If they can't point their blood on the ground somewhere, they fall by default, into group three.

Edmund Burke wrote;
all that in necessary for evil to prevail in the world,
is for good men to do nothing.

From which I can derive;
all that is necessary for public corruption and incompetence
to prevail, is for legislators to ignore their obligation to protect
our power and our resources from abuse by providing
transparent accountability in their spending.

The failure of this legislative session to push transparent
accountability in government and public service, to its
practical limit, falls squarely on the shoulders of
the complacent and the cowardly.