Some Michigan residents and possible political aspirants are taking the current budget and unemployment crisis as another example of why term limits don’t work. One just has to look at the current group of politicians in Lansing trying to put forth a balanced budget to see why.

It has been suggested that newly elected members of the government can’t learn how to do their jobs in 6 or 8 years, that government is too complex.

It has also been suggested that we have a constitutional amendment to eliminate term limits. If term limits are not working, the question then becomes why? Is it because government is too complex and having term limits is like having novices attempting to address complex issues. Is the only solution to eliminate them? That is like having a splinter in your finger and cutting off your hand to get rid of the splinter.

We got term limits because Michigan citizens finally woke up and realized that politicians were feeding off the government trough without having to put in much effort.

The people of Michigan voted for term limits in 1992 because they were disgusted at government waste, inefficiency and special interest. So let’s see if we can find a way to make them work. Most politicians would rather get rid of them so they can continue to feed off the taxpayers.

In order to address these complex government issues, maybe we should have a special educational process that newly elected politicians must attend. A three month crash course or series of seminars that all new incoming elected official must attend before taking their new positions. Not just a two day seminar. They should be graded and rated as to their particular strengths, weaknesses and interests. It should be run by a non-partisan group or university, which in itself could be a challenge. It should not teach positions or policy but rather concentrate on how to find knowledge in state government. How to administer and propose laws. How to hold citizen forums. How to effectively run a state government. And most importantly, how to listen to voters.

In order for an educational system to work, the institution should be changed every 5 years so its influence would be limited in scope. It could have non-partisan consultants, not lobbyists, available to any and all elected officials.

Then on the other hand, maybe we have to look at reducing the complexity of state government, make it more people oriented, put a little common sense back into the government process and get it out of the hands of lawyers and lobbyists.

Getting rid of Term Limits in Lansing is a bad idea. Making Term Limits in Washington would be a major improvement.