Political power and its results

Spending and more spending does not only exist in our governments, but exists with the power elite.There are too many; contracts, political appointments, favored businesses, and money contributor hirings.
 

The United States recognized the need to control and reform the methods of governmental hiring practices to promote fair and honest employment of personnel. To this end the Pendleton Law, the initial establishment of Civil Service was enacted.The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act (ch. 27, 22 Stat. 403) of United States is a federal law established in 1883 that stipulated that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit.^[1] The act provided selection of government employees by competitive exams,^[1] rather than ties to politicians or political affiliation. In 1908 New Jersey became the sixth state to adopt a version of Civil Service Administration. But with all of the laws passed little has ever been done to correct the over spending on contracts nor on the political handouts.

The laws created testing and vetting of candidates for employment by the Federal and State governments. Fast forwarding to today the laws and the administration of the practices have undergone many changes with the intent of employing qualified personnel to government positions. What the laws have not effectively accomplished is control the appointments of various personnel to municipal boards, no-show jobs, or hiring practices that favor members of political parties or affiliates, - cronyism. The methods give a warm feeling to connected applicants, but the methods around the regulations go on without criticism. Examples are the creations of study groups or boards filled with political appointments.

Recently it came to light that Mr. Jonathan Holmes Gruber, a professor of Economics has been heavily involved in the "ACA" or "Obamacare". He became the focus of a media and political firestorm in late 2014 when videos surfaced in which he made controversial statements about the legislative process, marketing strategies and public perception surrounding the passage of the ACA. The question is what testing or vetting did the Professor from MIT receive and what financial arrangements were made.

Other examples of appointment without the Civil Service process is the South Jersey Times Article from the Star – Ledger Columnist Tom Moran concerning George Norcross. The article tells how Norcross controls appointments as well as candidates and their influence on legislation. These are outside of the civil services regulations. 

When our Declaration of Independence and Constitution were drafted the gentlemen patriots sought changes from the Aristocracy of England. The ability to circumvent the intent of civil service legislation creates a cadre of loyal constituents that swell party coffers with donations for the continuance of power behind the curtain.   Who said; “Absolute power corrupts absolutely”?