Opinion: Government is failing the people

To the community,

I was taught that citizens can be governed by one, or by the few, or by many. A monarchy, an aristocracy, or a democracy. When the forms are legitimate, the governor acknowledges that they have a social contract with the governed. That they will not be capricious or arbitrary. That there is a moral base to politics.

All forms are subject to becoming corrupt. When corrupt, the one becomes a tyrant. The few become an oligarchy. The many become a mob. When corrupt the government loses its legitimacy and governs de facto, by illegitimate force.

Bill Crawford

In our community, we have a mix of the three forms. It is reasonable to compare the city manager to a monarch. He is contracted to execute the law legitimately. But is appears that he in reorganizing city government has been capricious and arbitrary in firing and hiring and re-assignments. Morally he has lost legitimacy. He has breached the social contract with city employees and citizens.

In the Tahoe basin, the TRPA can be compared to government by the few, a select group that is corrupt because they have not made the rules and law clear. Thus, they are capricious and arbitrary. Things are in a muddle. And it seems the TRPA plays favorites. Fairness is a lost cause. The law is what the TRPA says it is on a daily basis; whatever the whim of the day is is the law.

In the city, we have a City Council that in supposition represents the democracy, the people. But the council is the pawn of the city manager. There is no check, there is no balance on the executive by the council. Thus, there is not even the shadow of a democracy.

When all is said and done, the form of government doesn’t matter as long as the social contract is alive and well in good hands.

Bill Crawford, South Lake Tahoe