How Short-Termism in Government Prevents American Progress

The American government is the prime example of an organization plagued with short-termism.

By the time someone is elected to office, they have a short amount of time to create policies that will shape our nation. Long before we are able to see the positive or negative effects of that legislation, they are faced with a reelection campaign. 

There is a tendency today to be preoccupied with the current state of things, the right here, right now, no matter where you are. It has become increasingly impossible to fight for legislation that will create that lasting change that any country needs when the short-term has become so pressing As the old saying goes, when you are up to your butt in alligators, it’s tough to remember the original goal was to drain the swamp.

In order to create a stronger, more unified society, every leader, especially those in government, needs to think about both short- and long-term at the same time. 

Nowhere is government short-termism more prevalent than the education system. Band aids from both sides of the aisle have been applied to a system that, as a result, has become worse than it has ever been. All of our schools need to provide a first-class education, and they don’t today. If we want great opportunity for everyone regardless of socioeconomic class, race, or where they live, we need an education system that gives all children the foundation they need to be successful.

If we consider U.S. government debt, we are spending at a rate that is creating a deficit that is climbing to levels not seen since the historical high point after World War II. The money that is being put into circulation today will haunt future generations. We do need to spend in the short-term to work our way out of Covid-19 caused recession. But the long term problem of our debt isn’t being addressed.        

As we have seen in the Covid-19 pandemic, we are far from prepared for the long-term eventualities that will arise. The concept of a pandemic has existed for centuries, but with the scrambling to keep people safe, keep the economy going as best as possible, and develop vaccines and therapeutics has shown us that the long terms plans that should have been in place were never developed.

Now that we’ve seen a pandemic first hand, it’s crucial that we focus on how to share information globally quickly to understand potential pandemics faster, ensure we have responses planned for future pandemic possibilities whether air or water borne or something else, have stockpiles of necessary response aids and a plan to produce at a 10 times rate if needed, and improve processes for faster vaccine/therapeutics development when a new pandemic hits. 

When it comes to China, we continue to find short-term solutions, rather than develop a long term strategy for how to work with China in this century so that the relationship develops to the benefit of both countries and the world. A fundamental part of this strategy should be U.S. competitiveness including productivity and investment in basic research. But how do you do that when the officials representing the country change every four to eight years between candidates with dramatically different and often contradictory policies? A successful long-term strategy has to have the right mindset from both the U.S. government and China.

The government is fundamentally set up to promote short-termism. Our political divisiveness has exacerbated this issue to the detriment of the American people. Without leaders who are willing to put politics aside to develop and pass long-term solutions that are focused solely on serving the long-term health of the American public, we will perpetually be stuck in a cycle of short-termism that will continue to present challenges that the U.S. will struggle to overcome.