Cabinet

The senate confirmation hearings for the new Trump cabinet are underway and one thing is concerning. When Robert McNamara gave up his $400,000 a year job as President of Ford Motor Company and took on the job of Secretary of Defense he was widely admired. No one suggested that he had a conflict of interest even though Ford had many dealings with the government. Trumps nominee for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson CEO of Exon is giving up his high paid job and his former salary and bonus is an active news item. There is no reason why he should not be fully vetted and questioned by the senate as should all the appointees but it would be unwise to reject him just because he is from business. In the early years of our country the elected representatives came from all walks of life but as time passed that changed. Today there is a whole class of professional politicians who maintain their positions using the power of incumbency and jerrymandering. They are reelected at a 90% rate and stay in the job for many years, some for a life time. It would be a refreshing change to see others who are not professional politicians get more involved in government. Perhaps Tillerson is just the beginning of others like him who will follow in his footsteps. The country voted for change and this could be one way of changing.