Former budget director for President Reagan and economist, James C. Miller III, is available for comment on his new book, Monopoly Politics. Miller argues that the political marketplace is so rigged to protect incumbents that it amounts to a monopoly. But conventional campaign finance reform proposals to "fix" the problem will only give incumbents an even greater advantage over challengers.
"When observing poor performance in commercial markets, most people will suspect anticompetitive behavior-price fixing, limits on entry, discrimination, and the like," writes Miller. "Yet, voters seldom suspect that limits on competition explain much of the poor performance that characterizes political markets."
According to Miller, "the solution is not to drive money out of the system but to reform the political marketplace to make it more competitive and more responsive to voters."
Miller's suggested reforms include:
- Limit the abuse of office perks, such as "occupant"-addressed franked mail, excessive congressional staff, "pork" spending; and the use of the tax code to distribute favors;
- Revise federal election laws to lift limits on spending, require full disclosure of campaign contributions, tighten laws against intimidation, and rectify state laws benefiting incumbents; and
- Reform Congress through term limits and other measures.
In addition to serving as OMB Director under President Reagan, Miller served as Reagan's antitrust chief at the Federal Trade Commission and before that taught economics at several universities. He is currently a Fellow of the Hoover Institution and is the John M. Olin Distinguished Fellow at Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation.
Call the Hoover Press at 800-935-2882 to order Monopoly Politics or visit the Hoover Institution Web Site at www.hover.org.
