A few ways to start the job of fixing our government

If there's one thing people on the left and people on the right seem to agree on, it's that some changes need to be made in the way our government runs things.

Of course, each side wants to see different changes made.

Folks on the right would just as soon see cuts in programs designed to help the have-nots, while those on the left want to see the extremely wealthy treated with a little less adoration.

Let's look at some things that could be done without too much ideology:

1. Reducing the connections between Capitol Hill and K Street ...

For decades now, a synergy between elected officials and lobbyists has been growing and growing and growing. With the cost of campaigning growing almost exponentially, both representatives and senators spend at least a couple of hours out of every working day fundraising.

Since lobbyists can often write large checks, they get the access that means almost everything to them. And with the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling establishing the concept that corporations have the same rights as individuals, there are even more opportunities for money to influence votes.

So how can we change that?

Remember that we're trying to keep ideology out of it, while at the same time improving the quality of the government we get.

What if we said that serving in Congress meant that you could never work as a lobbyist dealing with Congress after your term in Washington ended? What if we treated elected positions as the honor they are instead of looking at them as entry-level jobs to the upper echelon of corporate America?

Liberal or conservative, one thing we ought to be able to agree on is that integrity is a good thing.

2. Term limits for elected officials ...

This is one I have resisted for a long time, and I'm still somewhat negative about the idea. The only way it could work at all is in conjunction with No. 1. Otherwise, the influence of lobbyists becomes even greater as term-limited officials would be looking for jobs a lot more often.

The idea behind term limits goes back to the 1780s, to the idea of citizen legislators serving for a while and then returning home. The thought that someone would be elected to Congress at age 30 and still be serving in his 70s or 80s. would have staggered Thomas Jefferson or James Madison.

At present, the only federal official who is term limited is the president. Republicans pushed through the 22nd Amendment to make sure Franklin D. Roosevelt didn't run for a fifth term, even though he was already dead.

Since then, four presidents -- three of them Republicans -- have served two complete terms. Two were popular enough but not healthy enough to be elected to a third term, and the third was as unpopular as a president could be when his second term drew to a close.

The only one who could have won a third term was Bill Clinton.

3. Cutting spending by reducing privatization ...

Dating back to the Reagan years, Republicans have worked to turn governmental functions over to private corporations. The idea was that there would be greater efficiency, but the fact that a private company would want to make a profit somehow never fazed them.

The biggest mistake was turning part of the military's mission over to companies like Halliburton or Blackwater USA. So we got mercenaries being paid $250 a day, far more than enlisted soldiers. KBR, the renamed Halliburton, ran some support functions, charging soldiers as much as $25 for a six-pack of Coca Cola.

A report in the Financial Times said that contractors had made $138 billion off the Iraq War, with KBR -- Dick Cheney's former company -- raking in $39.5 billion.

It seems only logical to me that if something is important enough that we want the government to do it, then the government ought to be the one actually doing it.

4. Eliminate obsolete programs ...

Why do we still have a Rural Electrification Administration? When FDR took office in the 1930s, 90 percent of farms were without electricity. It was a program that served a solid purpose, but 80 years later, there aren't really rural parts of America without electricity.

So why does the REA still exist?

Why do dozens if not hundreds of military bases that once served a real purpose but now aren't needed still exist?

Well, every obsolete base or obsolete program represents jobs in some congressman's district or some senator's state. And one way these people win elections is by stressing constituent service. Allowing hundreds of people who live in their district to lose their jobs isn't a way to get re-elected.

5. Obviously there's more, but ...

Without too much ideology, the four suggestions above might be a start in getting back to some form of good government. Reduce corruption, limit terms, reduce expensive outsourcing and eliminate obsolete programs. Once that was done, we can start discussing more ideologically charged issues.