Washington's governing elites think we're all morons, a new study says
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Re: Washington's governing elites think we're all morons, a new study says
#2I lived in DC for 15 years, some of that contracting for federal agencies. This attitude is evident in nearly every interaction with gov't people, on the clock or not.
You couldn't tell from my comment history here, but I used to be a believer in the power of gov't to solve problems. Up-close observation taught me the error of my ways.
Re: Washington's governing elites think we're all morons, a new study says
#3It's tempting to define moron as the opposite of genius or domain expert. As very few people are geniuses or domain experts for any chosen domain, it may sometimes appear that everyone is a moron.
The reality is that the observer is just as limited as the 'fools' he is observing. He just doesn't realise that, or perhaps, cannot accept it.
It's especially hard for people to accept that when they feel their position and status in life depends on the grandiloquence and success of their visions, vs, say, high quality widgets made. As beltway bureaucrats rarely produce tangible things except laws, they are very susceptible to thinking that because they have a job in a position of power, they must ipso-facto be qualified to wield that power, and as they are rarely domain experts in anything technical or specific, that qualification must be their generally superior intellect.
It's not just America that has this problem. Recent events in the EU show the problem there may be dramatically worse.
Re: Washington's governing elites think we're all morons, a new study says
#4The silliest part of this worldview among political people is that they themselves are usually just mediocre to above-average in their own specialization. What technologist dreams of working for the FCC? What business owner dreams of working for the Department of Commerce? Of the few parts of government that attract excellence, most are in the security services and legal system where there is no real competition from the private sector for talent because of a government monopoly on force. Where government competes with the private sector, the latter wins the talent war.
If your metric of status or intelligence is doing the least amount of work for the most payoff, then government probably is the best deal around. So I don't think that government officials necessarily think of us as morons, but more like rubes who are easily seduced by idealistic rhetoric. If you are completely cynical and just want to "get yours", then working for government is indeed a smart choice.
Re: Washington's governing elites think we're all morons, a new study says
#5The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
-- (Not really said by) Winston Churchill
Re: Washington's governing elites think we're all morons, a new study says
#6The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. -- (Not really said by) Winston Churchill
Are you an above-average voter? If so, how far above average? Where is the cutoff for acceptability?
Re: Washington's governing elites think we're all morons, a new study says
#7The silliest part of this worldview among political people is that they themselves are usually just mediocre to above-average in their own specialization. What technologist dreams of working for the FCC? What business owner dreams of working for the Department of Commerce? Of the few parts of government that attract excellence, most are in the security services and legal system where there is no real competition from…
Not only are they mediocre in skill, but studies suggest politicians spend up to 60% of their time raising donations. That means they're developing skills in raising money, not designing legislation that benefits their constituency.
Further, expertise comes not just from the amount of time you spend on something but how much feedback you receive and how you respond to that feedback. Few, if any, legislators will measure the economic or social impact of their bills 1-5 years after it's enacted.
What you end up with is a lot of people who are convinced they're doing a whole lot of good, when in fact they're more or less pushing paper and making their donors happy.
Re: Washington's governing elites think we're all morons, a new study says
#8The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. -- (Not really said by) Winston Churchill
Are you an above-average voter? If so, how far above average? Where is the cutoff for acceptability?
Actually I think most people on HN are not average voters.
Re: Washington's governing elites think we're all morons, a new study says
#9How did America wind up with a "political ruling class" who "have no idea what Americans think and they don't care"? Wasn't America the place you went to leave that kind of arrogant nonsense behind?
Re: Washington's governing elites think we're all morons, a new study says
#10The study's authors hardly sound like disinterested academics. They sound a lot more like people trying to sell a book that capitalizes on a political trend.