Politicians often base decisions on what will please voters, not on what’s best for nation

Politicians often base decisions on what will please voters, not on what’s best for nation

4:35-5:05

In a representative democracy, representatives are selected and voted into office by the people.  The purpose of politicians is to act on behalf of constituents in their best interests that are in par with certain values and morals. Citizens would most often vote a politician who convinces them with a strategy and seems promising. If the politician upholds their promise with the people and satisfy the demands then the chances of re-election are highly imminent. However, in some cases politicians may go against the interests of the people in order to benefit the nation.

First consider a situation in which politicians base their decisions to please their constituents and not benefit the nation. This scenario often occurs when a nation is experiencing times of economic growth and prosperity. People have more disposable income that will increase a country’s GDP. For example, consider the booming city of Sydney, Australia. Sydney has been in the spotlight since the mid 1990s since it was given the opportunity to host the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games in Home- Bush Bay. After the confirmation that Sydney was hosting the Olympics, construction for the stadium began and completed in time for the Olympics. Overall the Olympics were a success, but many feared that once the Olympics were over the stadium would shut down since it would not be used as much because of other government run stadiums in the state such as Geelong Stadium. However, Home Bush Bay Stadium was not shut down due to political support by local, state and national governments. Both Liberal (Republican)  and Labor (Democrat) Party politicians reached an agreement to support the interests of many sport loving fans because the economy is still booming. Due to good economic circumstances, the government allowed for the existence of the stadium. In addition, in 2007 the stadium under went major expansion because of further approval by the government under Prime Minister John Howard and due to the demand for hosting multiple sporting such as domestic/international cricket matches, rugby and racing. Hence when the economy in nation is bustling then, it is best for the politicians to act in the interests of the voters to satisfy their demands to guarantee re-election.

In contrast, consider a situation in which politicians base their decisions to benefit the nation regardless of views by constituents. This often occurs in scenarios such as bad economic times or a major national disaster. For example, consider the United States under the Bush Administration from 2000-2008. After President Clinton left office in 2000, President Bush faced many hurdles in the coming months to maintain the national surplus. However, on September 11, 2001 the nation changed forever. After the terrorists attacks in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington DC, the nation was left in shambles and wide spread pandemonium occurred. After the disaster, President Bush along with Mayor Rudy Giuliani  tried to appease families of lost victims. Hence, President Bush eventually declared war on terror in late 2002, to bring justice for the nation. Many people opposed Bush’s declaration of war. Likewise, President Bush founded  two new government agencies, The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the sub-agency Transport Security Administration (TSA). Under these 2 organizations, were many controversial laws such as the No Fly list and the mandatory security screenings in airports and trains. The No Fly List was controversial, in that it listed potential terrorists and barred them from flying. Although many people criticized Bush, he did what was right to prevent future attacks on US soil similar to the magnitude of 9-11. Thus in bad times it is appropriate for politicians to act in the best interests of the nation and not the people.

All in all it is circumstantial when, politicians should base decisions in voters interests or the nation. When a nation such as Australia is booming then the politicians satisfied the demands of citizens in expanding Home Bush bay stadium. However, when a nation such as the US in turmoil, then politicians have to against the interests of citizens to benefit the nation as did President Bush by establishing the TSA, DHS and No fly list to prevent future attacks of terrorism.