The United States is facing risk of another government shutdown. Political divisions and lack of cross-party collaboration has led to political paralysis in many countries before. Notably in my home country of Lebanon, we experienced 29 months of presidential vacuum. Parliamentary elections were postponed twice since 2013, and garbage piled up on the streets of Beirut in 2015 when politicians failed to agree on a trash disposal solution.
Taxpayers had salt applied to their wounds as politicians kept receiving their salaries and bloated benefits regardless of government shutdown. This must stop. There is an urgent need to reform politicians’ compensation. When they fail to fulfill their most basic responsibilities, consequences must apply just as it would you and I.
Lebanese members of parliament are paid $8,500 per month (tax free), and $88,266 per year in additional benefits. They also get free medical care, and are exempted from car import tax. They are assigned a full-time bodyguard, and receive lifetime pensions up to 75 percent of their salary, and much more. For years the Lebanese parliament has not convened. Even when it does, some parliamentarians do not attend, do not vote, and do not fulfill their most basic duties. This creates tens of millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money irresponsibly spent on a job not done.
There must be an ongoing accountability mechanism that rewards and assesses politicians’ performance across their term, not only when it ends.
Conventional wisdom has us hold politicians accountable at voting stations once their term ends. It is not enough. Accountability cannot wait. There must be an ongoing accountability mechanism that rewards and assesses politicians’ performance across their term, not only when it ends.
The solution requires a reform of politicians’ pay. A politician that fails to meet his most basic responsibilities will not be paid his salary, nor receive benefits.
How do we define the most basic responsibilities? Attend sessions, vote, introduce a minimum amount of bills, abide by the constitution and ensure the proper workings of government institutions. Holding Presidential elections and legislative elections on time falls under their fundamental responsibilities. Simply put: in the case of a government failure and shutdown, politicians should not be paid.
But would limiting pay be enough to discourage unwanted behavior? Behavioral experts have long proven that money is not the great motivator most of us assume it to be. According to Dan Ariely, Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, human motivation is driven by all kinds of intangible, emotional forces. This includes, but not limited to, the need to be recognized; to find a sense of purpose and progress; to ensure long-term retirement security. We want to feel as if our labor and lives matter in some way, even after death.
Motivational forces are complex and it is a mistake to singularly apply the “no play, no pay” approach. We have to examine the nuanced motivations of politicians beyond money and design a comprehensive set of rewards and penalties. Should we target their retirement benefits? Would a carefully designed public pride and shaming system impact their status and legacy?
In Tunisia, the non-profit Al-Bawsala launched an online platform that monitors members of parliament’s attendance, voting records and respect for parliamentary rules. They publish this information through their social media accounts, which reaches more than 227,000 Facebook followers. This initiative created a political culture where Tunisian lawmakers now feel accountable to citizens.
Digital technology can play a critical role in enabling the evolution of our democracy. Over the last two decades, there have been thousands of “digital democracy” experiments across the World. Nesta, a UK foundation namely focused on government innovation, reviewed them and concluded they have not lived up to expectations. Part of the reason is unwillingness on the part of traditional parties and politicians to adopt new methods at scale.
Bills need to be passed to institutionalize these reforms. Unfortunately, incumbent politicians are unlikely to support measures that could hurt them. Case in point, in 2011, 2013 and 2015 various Unites States congressmen introduced bills that would prevent any member of Congress from getting paid during a shutdown. These bills did not get off the ground and were never voted on.
We cannot count on the existing political class to introduce such reform. Successful change needs a concerted effort from media, civil society, reformers, and new candidates for public office. It requires a thoughtful and organized campaign focused on simple performance metrics, nuanced incentives and de-motivators that go beyond freezing politicians’ salaries, and leveraging new digital technologies.
While this approach will not completely dis-incentivize government shutdowns, it will somewhat reduce its likelihood, and definitely avoid our taxpayers’ money from funding it. These types of policy innovations are direly needed to evolve our governance system.
Mediocrity in public service should not be rewarded. Let’s put an end to it.