Thesis

Term Limits are necessary for new ideas and solutions. They would also help to limit special interests and begin to decrease corruption

Introduction

• How do Term limits bring congressmen closer to their constituents?
• Why do term limits bring fresh ideas and solutions?
• How would term limits limit special interests and corruption?
• Wouldn't term limits limit who people could vote for?
• Wouldn't new people all the time lead to inexperienced legislators?

Closer to Constituents

Term limits would help to bring members of Congress closer to their constituents. By limiting a Congressman's time in office, the Congressman begins much more responsible to those they represent. Since there would constantly be new people shifting into office, the Congressman would be closer to, and represent the shifting views of their constituents.

Fresh Ideas and Solutions

New people constantly being brought into Congress allows a constant influx of new ideas. This prevents gridlock within Congress, due to willingness to cooperate. This cooperation comes from the time constraints instated by term limits. Legislators would like to make an impact, and also be re-elected for the maximum amount of terms allowed. Think of it as the carrot and stick analogy. The chance of re election draws them to come up with fresh ideas, while limited terms will constrain what they can do.

Limited Special Interest groups and Corruption

With the limited amount of time in office, corruption would have less of a chance to take root in office. If it does take root, the shorter terms will help in limiting its extent, and also make the corruption easier to discover. Special interest groups often need many years in order to gain the relationship necessary to influence a decision. With the limited terms and the possibility that a new person could be re-elected more easily, special interest groups would have less of an influence over Congress.

“Their capacity to change a comma at 2 a.m. In a conference committee is based on 20 years of relationships, of golf games and contributions" -Mehr, a special interest group member.

Would Term Limits Limit Voters?

Though term limits will stop people from running for re-election indefinitely, people will still be able to vote for their favorite person. In fact, this will motivate congressmen to appeal to their voters by doing an excellent job representing them. Also, a person could vote for a candidate from the same political party, or someone with the same ideals.

Will They Have Experience?

Though a new congressman will not have the same experience as a person who has served several terms, they will have experience. They need experience to be elected, and they will learn while in office. In fact, being in Congress for less time will decrease political entrenchment. With less time available, there will be less time to strive for positions within Congress, though the option is still there.

Conclusion

Term limits will definitely help to limit corruption and gridlock within Congress. With new congressmen bringing original ideas, the system as a whole should be much more efficent. I believe that term limits could help fix the legislative system.

Sources for photos

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/US_Congress_02.jpg

http://blog.oregonlive.com/politics_impact/2009/02/Obamacongress1.JPG

http://www.christart.com/IMAGES-art9ab/clipart/2949/term-limits.png

http://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/162196-20141104-election-2-1024x524.jpg

https://marpeip2014group1.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/public-relations-lobbying-and-politics1.jpg

http://watchdog.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/10/voting-booth2.jpg

Three photos were used from Adobe Slate/Spark