As I’ve witnessed the “Build Back Better” deal disaster, I’ve wondered: what skills are required to be a congressman or congresswoman? How prominently do negotiation skills or strategy feature within the congressional repertoire compared to marketing or public speaking?

But then I recognize that regardless of the answers to those questions, the underlying cause to our current state of affairs, not the more visible symptoms, is our incentive structure within the system. At the end of the day, elected officials and public office are not incentivized to vehemently pursue the populations’ best interests.

It is these core building blocks of campaign finance reform, lobbying laws, and governmental privileges that must be reformed. As our democracy exists today, we still yet hold the power to change these systems, to adapt them to the will and benefit of all people…can we see that, and will we act?