Issue task
In any field—business, politics, education, government—those in power should be required to step down after five years.
Write a response in which you discuss your views on the policy and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider the possible consequences of implementing the policy and explain how these consequences shape your position
After a period of five years, no matter the position of power someone holds, he/she should step down from their office. It is important to get a fresh perspective across the board and electing new individuals to office allows for this. However, there are downfalls to electing new members to a position after five years as further explained.
First of all, leaders should step down so those being lead by them don’t become apathetic but rather involved. For example, if residents didn’t have a choice in who gets elected every five years then they would experience a great deal of apathy, but if he/she were given a chance to choose the best leader to be in power they would care more. Case in point, a principal at a Charlotte high school was getting a lot of flack from parents because of test scores and overall ranking among the other schools as the lowest in the state in terms of performance. Parents, students, fought hard to get him ousted from his position and petitioned for a new, competent leader. If parents and students weren’t given the option to have new leadership after a period of five years they would have had no choice but to suffer with the principal’s low quality performance. Thus, it is imperative to switch out leadership to avoid incompetency as well as to prevent citizens from becoming apathetic towards those in power.
Next, it is clear that leaders in all different positions should allow for a newly elected person to take over their job so a fresh perspective can come on board. A poll done by Markup Educational showed that those surveyed wanted a new leader to be elected to their field’s positon of power after five years because his/her current leader had lost their drive and passion. How can someone be effective at their job if they don’t even have a desire to do the job? Not only will a change up allow for a fresh perspective but will also give others a chance at leadership. For instance, the governor of Wisconsin found himself embroiled in scandal after scandal involving everything from taking bribes to extramarital affairs. His focus, obviously, wasn’t about being the best elected official he could be but rather about satisfying his own personal gains. After five years, voters wanted a change. So a new governor stepped in and stepped up to the task at hand of “cleaning” up the mess from the former governor.
On the other hand, constantly switching whose in authority every five years can be quite an adjustment for citizens no matter their field. For example, if a former college president declares that tution rates will be lowered by 5% and then the newly elected president changes and says that the tuition rates are going to have to increase by 12% to compensate for a slumping economy then this will be quite an adjustment for those effected. Not to mention, the lack of experience a newly promoted leader has over an individual who has worked in that same position for five years. After five years, the seasoned individual already knows what tasks are to be expected and how to handle them. Those effected whether students, employees, voters, etc. have to endure going through another person in a position of authority and hope that this person gets the hang of the job.
In conclusion, a person of great influence or power in any field should be allowed to step down from that office after a five year term. On the one hand, experiencing new leadership not only provides fresh, new insights on how to execute the job but allows for a new leader to rise to the occasion. However, dealing with a new elected person of power can have its downfalls such as struggling to adjust to changes the new leader presents.
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