Editorial: Term limits cheat Michigan of effective leadership
Term limits have been a disaster for Michigan. But don't take our word for it. Wayne State University has just finished a 12-year study on the effect of term limits on Michigan's political structure and has come to the same conclusion.
The study, led by political science professor Marjorie Sarbaugh-Thompson, found that since term limits went into effect, state lawmakers are less likely to monitor the performance of governmental departments and far more reliant on lobbyists and legislative staffers for their expertise on issues.
"These term limits were sold to Michigan voters on the notion that they would sever close ties with lobbyists and cause legislators to be more independent," Sarbaugh-Thompson said. "In reality, we found them to have the opposite impact."
Sarbaugh-Thompson contends that the limited time lawmakers have in office prevents them from gaining any expertise in their jobs or building the relationships with fellow legislators that are needed for collaborative governing.
She is absolutely right. Term limits were passed by voters in 1992 and limit state House members to three, two-year terms and senators to two, four-year terms.
They've turned Lansing into an amateur political league and are directly responsible for the inability of the Legislature to accomplish its basic task of passing a budget in a timely fashion. The limits have increased partisanship and acrimony.
What they haven't done is put an end to career politicians. Term-limited officials pogo-stick from elected job to elected job, and now spend more time running for their next position than they do mastering their current one. There's also less accountability when so many legislators spend so much time as lame ducks.
Michigan is suffering greatly from the poor quality of its political leadership. To fix that, term limits must be either lifted or greatly extended. Voters have proved themselves quite adept in recent elections at using the ballot box to term limit politicians who don't get the job done. They ought to have the right to reward the ones who do.
We've urged voters to support efforts in the past to fix this disastrous law. If they don't, they can expect little in the way of improved performance from Lansing.
From The Detroit News:
Editorial: Term limits cheat Michigan of effective leadership | detnews.com | The Detroit News