Reviewing Politics While at Brown

This is my sixtieth column for BPR, and probably my last (though feel free to start the Brett Favre “will he or won’t he?” unretirement talk, it’s good for the ego). I started out writing about gambling in my hometown, and ended with a column about a racist basketball owner. I’ll say this for America, it’s never boring. And still people feel a need to fill the hours with fake-reality television.

There’s been some missteps. I got caught up in the “Grand Bargain” talk around a federal budget compromise (didn’t happen), and thought Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee’s party switch might help his electoral chances (hard to win when you drop out of the race).

I’m still most proud of my column following the Boston Marathon bombing. It’s a column I almost didn’t write, thinking it was too soon or I didn’t have enough to say. More recently, I tried to mount a nuanced defense of American exceptionalism, and was glad to finally put my skills as a Brown history concentrator to work.

I want to spent a little time summarizing what I’ve learned through six years of a Brown education and two years writing this column – at least as it pertains to politics. (Larger life lessons include the sad realization that no joy will equal the joy of Chicken Finger Fridays.)

Hey Matt, why’s this politics stuff all messed up?

Before I answer that, lesson number one: the importance of perspective. This lesson came with my undergraduate history background. It’s easy for cable news commentaries to scream that things are as bad as they’ve ever been – and when it comes to partisan gridlock, sometimes we all want to scream along with them. But let’s remember a few things. First, our country fought a Civil War, and we’re nowhere near that divided today. Second, we were able to recover from a Civil War, so if we can get past that, we can get past a few government shutdowns. And finally, think about all the changes in the last few decades, with a larger voice and increased rights for minorities, women, gays, and other groups. And remember how long (as in millennia) these groups suffered. This amount of change was never going to be easy.

To answer the question, I think it mostly comes down to sorting. Some argue we’re sorting ourselves geographically into liberal and conservatives states and regions, although the evidence is mixed. Technology has allowed us to segregate ourselves from the opinions of those we disagree with, even when we get our news. And it’s indisputable that the two major political parties are sorting themselves into two ideologically pure camps, which explains much of the current gridlock.

How can we fix it?

We can’t, at least not with public policy. I do think measures to reduce barriers for campaigning and voting (a few of which I discuss below) might help. But unless you want to relocate people, or change our biological predisposition to tribalism, sorting is going to happen.

Still, I don’t think we should be overly concerned. American democracy is imperfect, and people are right to worry that the voices of the less fortunate are being stifled in modern political discourse. But the democratic ideal – that American government should be responsive to the needs of the people – is an ideal ingrained in our governance (if not always carried out). Teddy Roosevelt and Progressivism came along to knock down the robber barons and fight corruption. Radical political parties, from communists to Dixiecrats, are eventually marginalized. Even now, the Tea Party is waning in influence. American democracy is eventually self-correcting. Sometimes it takes hundreds of years, as was the case with slavery, but it can be quicker – see how quickly gay marriage bans are being abolished.

What policies should we change then?

This argument makes it seem like all we have to do is sit back and let politics runs its course. If only it were that easy. Democracy still requires voices clambering for positive change. One of the more disconcerting recent trends (and it’s probably not all that recent) is the tendency to see the Constitution as a holy document, perfect in construction and never needing change. If we created a Constitution from scratch, would it look like the current document? No. This doesn’t mean we should scrap all precedent, but we should recognize how much things have changed in the last century.

But take hope. There are a few policy changes that we could make, and are more feasible than might be expected, which would have a real and positive impact on numerous lives. Here’s my list:

Freeing health insurance from employment.
This is actually already happening, and was a semi-stealth goal of Obamacare. Healthcare is a basic need, and the fact that any part of it is at the discretion of your employer is absurd. This is a quirk of history that should be rectified.

Reforming drug laws and criminal sentencing.
The United States, the land of the free, has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Prisons cost states huge amounts of money. Private prisons are creating perverse incentives to keep people locked up. The evidence says that incarceration has a hugely negative effect on inmates’ post-prison lives. Many laws restrict the rights of felons, and basic tasks like finding work can be difficult. Minorities make up a huge share of the prison population. Reforming laws around prison and sentencing, especially for drug crimes and nonviolent crimes, has the potential to save states money and help a huge number of people, especially in the minority population. There’s bipartisan support – even from anti-tax crusader and arch-conservative Grover Norquist.

Increasing teacher pay.
Comparing the U.S. public education system to Finland, which has highly paid and trained teachers, has been popular for a few years now. It’s an imperfect comparison, given the smaller size and homogeneity of the Finnish population. But basic economics tells us that talented people are attracted to highly compensated careers. It’s no secret why Brown students flock to banking and consulting. Obviously, paying teachers more will cost states and municipalities a huge amount of money, which makes this less feasible. But higher pay could be tied to other reforms, like year-round school and using technology and larger class sizes to reduce the number of teachers.

Passing a carbon tax.
Okay, maybe this stretches the feasibility criteria a bit, given the power of the energy lobby and the difficulty of passing a tax. But former Republican congressman Bob Inglis made a compelling presentation about the need for a carbon tax last year at Brown, and how Democrats – if they truly believe in the urgency of the climate change problem – should accept a revenue-neutral tax. And the basic economics of using a tax to price in some of the negative effects of carbon usage is solid.

Making voting easier.
The fact that Election Day is not either a holiday or on the weekend is a farce. If we truly cherish the right to vote we should make it as easy as possible. New voter ID laws, which are passing in many states even though there’s almost no evidence of in-person voter fraud, are exacerbating this problem. It’s often said that it’s preferable to let a guilty man walk free than convict an innocent man. I’d rather let someone vote who shouldn’t than disenfranchise anyone. There’s less bipartisan support for this issue, but if framed correctly it’s hard to argue against letting people vote (although many state legislators do it all the time).

Reforming campaign financing.
I’ve talked about this in several columns, and it’s an issue I think gets at the heart of American democracy. We’ve done a good job stamping out overt corruption. But the access money buys, the way it influences how candidates and politicians think and behave, is disturbing. Fighting inequality is complicated and difficult, but even before inequality can be grappled with there needs to be a voice for the less well off in the political process. That voice has been growing dimmer for some time, but campaign finance reform could help. Campaign finance reform, when done right, helps and hurts both parties. It’s been a bipartisan issue before, and could be again.

So that’s it. Learn from history, but don’t be suffocated by it. Have perspective, but use that perspective to see where change is really needed. Take hope. And thanks for reading.