Our government has never been more dysfunctional than it is today.

Well, maybe it has, but I wasn’t paying attention until a few years ago.

Many of you still aren’t. I’m taking it upon myself to point out that your failure to keep abreast of what is really happening in Austin and D.C. is costing us dearly.

The people we elect know that we are not paying attention. They know that they can get away with almost anything just short of pedophilia.

They come home bragging about how much they accomplished — how much their party accomplished — but more often than not, from a consumer standpoint, it doesn’t amount to squat.

Insurance rates don’t come down, our Texas Public Utility Commission should be called the Utilities’ Utility Commission, and tax abatements are given to special interests that don’t need or deserve them.

It’s a sham.

The failures of our elected people can be pinpointed if you pay attention. If you don’t, the bragging and excuses they give in their newsletters and the brief bits you read on the Internet and in newspapers will make sense.

It is a ruse. What they tell you often is twisted and contorted and covered with sugar. There is no bottom line. There is very little plain English.

Often the propaganda is delivered by a political action committee that supports Rep. Blowhard. These PACs aren’t supported by thousands of individuals. They are kept alive by large companies and a few wealthy individuals with an agenda — a personal agenda, not a political agenda.

It’s all about the money; the elected folks want more for re-election and relaxation, and the contributors want more from state contracts and to get laws passed or squelched that benefit them personally.

Don’t you ever wonder where our bailout money has gone? Why aren’t more elected people asking and letting us know the answer?

I hear that banks are using some of it to get back into hedging on crude oil futures, which is what is driving up the price at the pump.

I thought that our new president was going to put an end to much of this legalized gambling.

Is anyone asking about it?

A recent article in The New York Times says that the banks are loading up through lobbying efforts to fight any changes to the rules. They, along with Wall Street, want to go back to business as usual.

Are your representatives and senators addressing the issue or are they, like Joe Barton, just getting face and space time talking about a new playoff system in college football?

Does that keep more money in your pocket each month? What’s the deal? Think priorities might be a bit skewed?

Change your ways, people. Join me in being attentive. Pick up the phone and gripe when something smells bad. Let them know that you don’t have your heads stuck in the sand.

And if you find elected officials you like — someone who is working for you and not Big Electricity, Big Insurance, Big Communications, Big Oil & Gas, Big Everybody — support them. You have to send them money. They need it to get re-elected.

If they don’t get a little from a bunch of people, they will have to get a lot from a few big companies, and the big companies don’t give it out unless they are getting something in return.

This usually means that what we need is more expensive and harder to obtain, and the bills we get in the mail are harder to understand.

Please think about this and get involved. If you don’t, you can expect more of the same.