That is what we can expect Republicans to offer as an explanation as to why a COVID relief package cannot be more robust, at a time when record numbers of Americans are flocking to food pantries, not just for Thanksgiving dinner, but for survival. To put things in context, we might look to some of the things we can afford — things like yachts, luxury homes, and pumpkin spice lattes, but I offer a different metric.
In the 2020 election cycle, the United States spent $14 Billion (yes, fourteen billion with a “b” dollars) on the presidential and congressional elections. In contrast, Canada spent $509 Million (with an “m”) on its last election cycle, which is limited by law to no more than 50 days. We have to spend so much money because our election cycle is never-ending, and because politicians need to find a way to get elected to another term when they failed to accomplish anything during the current term. Or the previous term for that matter.
It is completely understandable that politicians are unable to accomplish anything, because so much of their time must be devoted to – wait for it – fundraising. So when we underfund government programs to solve pressing problems, it’s not so much that we’re cheap as that we’re crazy.
It does not help that do-nothing politicians can only win elections by warning voters how dangerous their opponent’s party is, which makes it difficult to work with that party after the elections are over. Compromise, or even toning down the rhetoric, would be likely to have a detrimental impact on the ability to scare donations out of voters and lobbyists.
The truth is that we can afford to spend a lot more on avoiding a public health and financial catastrophe than Mitch McConnell will ever allow. What we really can’t afford is a political system that is more protective of politicians than of the public. That is why the second order of business for the Biden administration, once it has done its best to deal with the COVID crisis and its impact on the economy, must be to deal with our political crisis.
As a country we need to have serious debates about how to solve our many pressing problems. That will not happen until we restore our problem-solving capacity by making elections competitive, and by making politicians focus on the needs of their constituents, not their own needs. We have to deal with the length and cost of our election cycles, campaign contributions, dark money, and gerrymandering. We can’t afford not to reform the business of politics if we are going to get politicians focus on the business of the country. And somebody should let Mitch know we found another $14 Billion or so to help with COVID relief.
