Robert Barro discusses his surprise that some free market advocates, with their faith in the self-interested consumer, support term limits. The free marketers claim incumbent politicians have an unfair advantage, 95% of the incumbents were re-elected, and a citizen Congress would result in better government. In this episode we discuss how to get rid of term limits for Congress. Legislative branch term limits are an attempt to shift power back to the executive branch, now subjected to limits. Barro believes ending executive limits would be a better solution, especially since there is no evidence that they improved governing.
Robert Barro discusses his surprise that some free market advocates, with their faith in the self-interested consumer, support term limits. The free marketers claim incumbent politicians have an unfair advantage, 95% of the incumbents were re-elected, and a citizen Congress would result in better government. Barro believes decreasing the excessive incentive of maintaining a legislator's seniority status may be a better solution. Legislative branch term limits are an attempt to shift power back to the executive branch, now subjected to limits. Barro believes ending executive limits would be a better solution, especially since there is no evidence that they improved governing.