Why are elected politicians ineffective negotiators?

Because they have no skin in the game like a business person does.

"Another politician would've taken the concrete concessions on pensions and health-care benefits, threatened to revisit the collective-bargaining ban in the spring if any of the unions failed to make the promised concessions and thrown himself a parade. But not Walker.

Instead, he's rejected every compromise that's been offered."

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2011/0...

The Unions have agreed to paying more in benefits and other concession so taxpayers are not cheated. There are issues with pension not because unreasonable demands were made. There are issues with the pension because the returns from the stock market are lower than expected.

hardball negotiations with the Unions make elected officials an easy target for the left wing loons at the next election. The left wing media will demonize them and claim that the HATE the working people. Private business is only answerable to their board of directors and stockholders as long as they remain within the law. Elected officials are only answerable to a largely uneducated and gullible block of voters.

i think if we are going to look at ineffective negotiations, we need to include giving big business and the wealthiest among us tax breaks that we simply can't afford.

when scott walker came into office, wisconsin had a budget surplus.

you'll never in a million billion years guess what he did - he cut taxes for the rich and also for wealthy corporations.

come to think of it - it's exactly what george w. bush did with HIS surplus - with the same result.

so, i agree - the pols are simply horrible at this - why do they insist on doing thing after thing with no money to pay for it?

i mean what are they thinking:

wari in iraq - unfunded.

war in afganistan - unfunded.

medicare part d - unfunded.

bush tax cuts - unfunded.

TARP (bush bank bailout) - unfunded.

in case you want to wonder why we're REALLY broke - the unions have NOTHING to do with it.

grow up.

The politicians are not negotiators. The are receivers of laundered money in the form of campaign contribution kickbacks from the very people with whom they are supposedly negotiating.