eday020510

On the homepage

2010 campaign

Emmer is target as DFL's Big 3 debate

Out There

Access Vikings

Adrian Peterson: Fumbling is all mental

Family

Texting while driving: Don't just blame teens

Home | Opinion Exchange | Letters

David Brewster, Star Tribune

Caucus night at the Highland Park Senior High School in St. Paul: Republicans and Democrats were welcomed. Others were left out.

Letter of the day: Caucuses a celebration of democracy -- for two parties

Last update: February 4, 2010 - 6:56 PM

As I read the coverage from this week's party caucuses, it struck me that the political arena is one of the few areas of American life where we openly tolerate the existence of a monopoly. Econ 101 teaches us that, without threat of competition, firms will generate inferior products that reflect the interests of the company, rather than the needs of the market -- as evidenced by the U.S. auto companies in the 1980s. As consumers, we bear the ultimate burden of monopolies in the form of poor quality, narrow selection and inflated prices. While we go to great lengths to prevent monopolies in the private sector, we've allowed a duopoly to flourish in our public electoral process. The net result is that, instead of K-cars, the Democratic and Republican parties too often produce candidates who pander to the same tired internal agendas, rather than reflect the values, priorities and needs of mainstream voters. If we want more thoughtful, innovative government, we need to start by expanding our choice of candidates. There are a number of ways that we can improve the competitive nature of the ballot -- supporting third-parties, advocating for ranked-choice voting and supporting public financing of elections. The competence of our government is only as good as the quality of folks we elect to represent us. And until we find ways to better apply the virtues of competition into our democratic process, we're destined to be dissatisfied with the candidates and governance the major parties can provide.

ERIC L. SNYDER, EXCELSIOR

Recent Letters stories

Readers write for Sunday, June 13 - February 4, 2010

Readers write for Sunday, June 13 - Thank you for the insightful reporting that led to the publication of "In jail for being in debt'' (June 6). We often think of people who are incarcerated as deserving their sentences, as paying for what they did. In the case of debt enforcement, people are literally being thrown in jail for the simple fact of not having enough money -- a fact that applies to all too many of us these days. More

Comment on this story | Read all 11 comments | Hide reader comments

About Opinion Exchange

Opinion Exchange is produced by the Editorial Department, which is dedicated to hosting the discussion on a range of issues of interest to Star Tribune readers online and in print. In its new format, it's our hope that Opinion Exhange will create a more dynamic dialogue between Star Tribune readers and the Editorial Board. Many individual posts will be written and signed by members of the Editorial Board and will reflect their own opinions. Daily editorials will continue to represent the institutional voice of the newspaper and be researched and written by the Editorial Department, which is independent of the newsroom.

Subscribe to RSS|Learn more about RSS