Laws of Power(mongering)

My 800th post...

There's a movement locally to unite serveral Municipalities into discrete regions based on proximity and socioeconomic factors, in essence, the possible creation of counties (or what in Loo-zee-ana are called parishes.)

Based on the level of enthusiasm shown by the Fools at the Municipal level, maybe the word movement should be preceded by the word "bowel."

The problem can be defined simply as "holding on to power." No mayor is willing to subsume his or her inadequate personality and bird-brained political shenanigans into a larger unit where decisions are made by a committee or a County Board. They will deny the "power stranglehold" angle while emphasizing the "inefficiency of group-think," although none of them could define group-think in under 6 minutes.

And they are partially right...because they are so unanimously wrong. Because nearly all of Our mayors are sub-developed political freaks, seeking a position where the opportunities to actually make a change are nil (centralized control at almost every level and agency), the primary task is vote-getting (for their equally bird-brained parties) and with the sole benefit of fame/notoriety, mayors here are glad-handing party hacks with rhino hides to take on the constant barrage of criticisms they receive.

Very few rise above that and they do so through just one long gutter: become mayor of a large city and gain more power through political party in-fighting. Mayors from large cities, such as San Juan, Bayamón, Caguas, Carolina and Ponce, have been able to leverage their "voting bases" with party politics to try to make larger changes, with varying degrees of success.

But given that model, what chance do smaller towns have of being change models themselves?

Strike One: Mayors are seldom honest workers and very seldom visionaries.

Strike Two: Small voter bases = small central party and government attention.

Srike Three: Attempts at unity are basely self-serving and thus fall apart.

So, rather than having another law on Our disastrously heavy books that We don't pay attention to, how about We nullify that law and simplify the process to create autnomous municipalities, a process so laden with bureaucratic barnacles that only 8 of 78 towns have been able to complete the process...in 19 years?

I know, why eliminate one badly-implemented idea for another badly-implemented idea? But at least an autonomous municipality can reduce central government costs and seek its own path to development. Which means mayors can become more important...and serve as examples of party power...to attract voters. 

Seems that would work, except that there are Fools in (out)house and (kennel)senate, not to mention in the (non)executive branch, that don't want to share their power, either.

Laws without teeth aimed at wrenching power from rabid clutchers of it: yeah, like that will ever work...

The Jenius Has Spoken.