As long as we live in a democracy with election cycles, politicians are gonna be short-sighted and largely useless in "attempts" to get important things done. But despite all the flaws, democracy is the best system we've found so far, and probably will be until a truly benevolent, rational, wise, and incredibly lucky dictator can pop up and do better. I'm not gonna hold my breath on that one.
You can't just blame the politicians, though. They are a function of the public who elects them and the system.
