There are many flaws in todays political infrastructure. Just take a look around and and make a mental list of systems and policies set forth by the government that do not work. You'll then soon realize that some basic ideas of the governemnt might in essence be good but the approach spoils any benefit that the concept might deliver.

For quite a long time I have seen this flaw but it was not clear enough in my mind to draw a distinct solution. It wasn't untill the incident of where a 86 -year-old man plowed through a crowd of pedestrians in California (2003-07-16) that it became apparent something is wrong with the way people reason. To use this case as an example imagine what the press would say after an incident like this. Blah blah blah Seniors are high risk drivers blah blah bad reaction time blah blah blah (replace blah with buzz words). After a few days of headlines with these kind of words will catch on to people, and they will think "Maybe we need maximum age restriction on drivers." Certainly this is one of the most direct ways of approaching this and at first might seem logical but lets examine it a bit.

Just like everyone in our society elderly need to get from point a to point b to point c(etc) on daily basis. Why? well they need to be able to go to their favourite supermarket to resupply their shelves with consumables, or go to the doctor/pharmacy to fufill their medical needs. These activities alone can put a burden on your minute pention but not being able to take one of the most convenient/cheapest transportation to complete your task does not make your life any better. Say there is a maximum age limit emposed on the people do you excpect them to take a bus or a cab everywhere? Ok, that might be fine if you live in a city but in nation where about 1/2 the population lives in suburbs or exurbs where public transportation is nearly impossible what are they supposed to do? Pay $20-$50 on a cab each time they want to go anywhere. This is by no means is feasible.

So the question comes up how do you treat this problem while not making great burden on the society and the economy. Well, there are several aproaches one can take. For example expanding the public transportation system and more importantly making it much more friendly and convenient to people. This way one would not have much of a resentment to it and the urge to avoid it all costs would dissapear. This might look costly but I bet that if a stricter regulation on the way the money is handled within the company one can go very far without increasing ticket prices.

The point I am trying to make is that a direct approach to a problem is not always the best solution. Sometimes the only thing you need to do is slightly direct people to a new way of doing things and not put in new controversial legislation. So please next time you try to put a drastic change re-evaluate how it could turn and look for alternatives to solving this problem. And while you are at it elect politicians who will do the same.