What is wrong with political power

Late in the nineteenth century the United States recognized the need to control and reform the methods of governmental hiring practices to promote fair and honest employment of personnel. To this end there was the Pendleton Law for the initial establishment of Civil Service. In 1908 the State of New Jersey became the sixth state to adopt a version of Civil Service Administration.

These laws created testing and vetting of candidates for employment by the Federal and State governments. Fast forwarding to today the laws and the administration of the practices has undergone many changes with the intent of employing qualified personnel to government positions. What the laws have not effectively accomplished is control the appointments of various personnel to municipal boards, no-show jobs, or hiring practices that favor members of political parties or affiliates. 

These practices are often referred to as cronyism. The methods can give a warm feeling to applicants for positions, but they are methods around the regulations. Examples are the creations of study groups or boards. Recently it came to light that Mr. Jonathan Holmes Gruber, a professor of Economics has been heavily involved in the "ACA" or "Obamacare". He became the focus of a media and political firestorm in late 2014 when videos surfaced in which he made controversial statements about the legislative process, marketing strategies and public perception surrounding the passage of the ACA.

The question is what testing or vetting did the Professor from MIT receive?

Other examples of appointment without the Civil Service process is the Star – Ledger Columnist Tom Moran concerning George Norcross. The front page article tells how Norcross controls appointments as well as candidates and their influence on legislation. These are far beyond the civil services regulations. When our Declaration of Independence and Constitution were drafted the gentlemen patriots sought changes from the Aristocracy of England. The ability to circumvent the intent of civil service legislation creates a cadre of loyal constituents that swell party coffers with donations for the continuance of power from behind the curtain.   Who said; Absolute power corrupts absolutely.