Digital sentencing

I randomly made this metaphor in previous item:

France, like most countries, is not stuck in hell for an unstoppable 4-year term. Parole is possible.

Exploring the metaphor a bit more, I see a definite split in our tendencies. In the last 40 years of total Wall Street control, we’ve removed some paroles and imposed others. Regular jobs are all parole, no fixed sentence. All gig, no security or contracts or pensions. Politicians and executives have maximum security, with no forced retirement and no real elections. Corporate boards no longer fire bad CEOs. Blackmail is everything.

The net effect of the changes is always toward making BAD SHIT permanent and locking out GOOD SHIT.

Some states and cities are more Euroish with fairly convenient recall procedures for bad officials. I don’t think any state has snap elections, which are the norm in Europe.**

The federal level is consistently heading toward no parole or forced retirement for anyone. Evil monsters can stay in power until they stop breathing.

The most important consequence of fixed vs flexible terms is the effect on decisions. When the only available sentence is standardized, judges and juries can’t act in an ANALOG way. They can’t decide that this dude needs a short break from drugs and gang control, while that dude needs to be away from society for life. The choice is binary. Either 30 years or innocent. The teen who needs a drug withdrawal and some discipline will return to the gang leader for more training instead of getting a chance to experience a non-criminal life.

Natural law is analog, not digital. The Endarkenment wiped out natural law and turned the world into digital hell.

The same lookahead happens with politicians. We desperately need more HOBBY politicians, more GIG politicians, who have no ambitions for permanent power. Gig politicians wouldn’t worry about endangering their future advancement or future Larry Fink donations. They’d be more willing to try something new and see what happens. The fixed term means that a young politician must be committed to spending his entire life in power, which automatically attracts monsters who love power for its own sake.

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** Later thought… Why has no state tried parliament? Because the constitution requires a ‘republican form of government’ for each state. No way to regain the more adaptive and responsive parliamentary form.