Another reason for term limits in Congress. It seems that the longer they are in office, the more corrupt they become and learn to work the system. Keep throwing money in their faces for three decades and they’ll give in eventually.
Wherever power consolidates so to does corruption.
More politicians should be harshly punished. Anyone who saw the look on former North Carolina House Speaker Jim Black as the judge fined him $1 million yesterday (as only part of his sentencing) agrees with that.
America absolutely needs term limits. Lawmakers become entrenched in office and isolated from the people, and are accountable to seemingly no one. They get fat and lazy.
I say two terms in the Senate and six terms in the house, and you’re out. Twelve years is the maximum.
A friend of mine used to be a DC bureaucrat. He correctly pointed out that your prestige in Washington is a direct function of the number of people you manage. He tells of directing his workers to let work pile up before a GAO visit. When the GAO got there, he pointed out how over-worked his small staff was and that he needed at least six more people. He played this game for over 2 decades, got a larger and larger staff and more and more prestige in Washington.
What would happen if Bush came out and announced the following Executive Order: “As of today, each bureaucrat in the federal gov’t has 10% less money to run their departments than yesterday. If you can’t provide equal or better service within one year using that budget, I’ll replace you with someone who can.”
I’ll bet we’d never notice the difference.
This, actually, is one of Fat Teddy's recurring re-election themes---that he can do "more" (i.e., secure more federal dollars) for Massachusetts. I think this opinion piece is balls-on accurate.
I'm sure Ulysses S. Grant, for one, will be relieved to hear that.
What we have here another person who loves to write about what they don't know about; by far the gravest corruption in Federal government was circa 1870-1900, a period of of completely unrestricted campaign contributions, let alone overt bribery...
Corruption occurs in the Senate and House mainly due to earmarks (anonymous add ons sending money to outfits in a member’s district or state) in spending bills How do the earmarks get in there? Because a Representative or Senator is bribed or promised support/campaign funds.
The Republicans were guilty of earmark abuse and now the Democrats are doing the same. The recent “reform/ethics” change by the House Democrats only went to dinners and trips from lobbyists and earmarks were untouched.
We citizens must keep on pressuring federal legislators on public disclosure on each earmark as to author and money recipient. The Pork Buster website is a good place to learn more on this.
Unless Congress bans omnibus spending bills, curbs earmarking and restricts itself to its constitutional authority
Not likely...
And there lies much of the problem...IMO
We Need Term Limits.
A honest broker for the people who elected him doesn't need to buy votes.
In his last two Senate campaigns of 1976 and 1982, Proxmire refused to take any campaign contributions, and spent on each less than $200 out of his own pocket—to cover the expenses related to filing for re-election and return postage for unsolicited contributions. He was an early advocate of campaign finance reform.
And the fact that the quality of our Senators and Congressmen is in the toilet. They are in it for what they can get out of it. Instead of representing our conscience in Washington, they are representing only themselves.
Our entire government is in dire need of a huge upheaval and house cleaning. We should fire every single senator and congressman and start over.
How can anyone seriously support government controlled health care, other than those who stand to profit from it?
Why so many freepin' words? Let's cut to the chase...
They set their own salaries.
They set their own 'expense accounts'.
They exempt themselves from the laws the rest of us are expected to observe.
If a bureaucrat makes a serious error affecting life or property, the victim is expected to set things right. For instance, with the IRS, contrary to the Bill of Rights, you are guilty until proven innocent.
All of these things apply to the elected and appointed politicians, all bureaucrats and the courts.
There are tens of millions of them. What are the odds that they will adrress the criminal imcompetence and corruption on their own?
Now here's the conundrum:
Articles like this one are useless. As long as they have the final word and keep their hands in our pockets, we can call them anything we want and rant and rave endlessly. The sinkhole that Alexis de Tocqueville predicted has arrived. The corruptees have bought all of their supporters with other people's money and it has gone beyond the tipping point. The sheep are truly helpless.
Hogs eating at the trough. The bigger the trough, the more hogs and the more that gets eaten.
We need a much smaller trough.
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness—these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked, Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.Washington believed that only religion and its related moral principles were forces powerful enough to overcome man’s natural inclination to abuse power. For any official who did not believe in God, only the threat of punishment would be sufficient to restrain him. So, as American culture has come to value belief in God less and less, it has become necessary in modern times to pass an increasing number of laws specifying punishments for the corrupt behavior of government officials.It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule indeed extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric? Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.