Why Washington is corrupt

[BigLouie]

Was reading this interesting article on why Washington is corrupt.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/07/opinio...ss_igoogle_cnn

It made a couple of interesting points.

the United States also has two elections. One a voting election, where citizens get to select the candidates who will ultimately govern. But the other is a money election, where the candidates who wish to run in the voting election raise the money they need to compete.

Less than 0.05% of us — about 150,000 Americans — give enough money to be even noticed by the candidates desperate to fund their campaigns. Even that number is likely an exaggeration. The better number is probably closer to 50,000 Americans.

Now that fact alone — that we fund campaigns from a tiny slice of us — doesn't necessarily create the corruption that is our Congress. What does that is how the money is raised from that tiny slice of us.

For members of Congress and candidates for Congress spend anywhere between 30% and 70% of their time raising money from this tiny, tiny slice of us. Think of a rat in a Skinner box, learning which buttons to push to get pellets of food, and you have a pretty good sense of the life of a congressman: a constant attention to what must be done to raise money, and to raise money not from all of us, but from the tiniest slice of the 1% of us.

And so what issues might that tiny, tiny slice of the 1% care about? Unemployment? Out-of-control health care costs? Actually reforming Wall Street? Obviously not. The issues that matter to this tiny fraction of the 1% are not the issues that matter to America.

[Jackie S]

Another reason is Polititans who are in a district that will keep re-electing them regardless of how corrupt, and stupid, they are.

A good example is my district that keeps electing Shiela Jackson Lee, and that district up in Chicago that re-elected Jesse Jr, who was under indicment and in the nut house to boot.

The Republicans are no better. Remember that sleeze bag Congressman from the Sugar Land District south of Houston, Tom Delay who seemed to win even though everybody knew he was corrupt. He even rose to be Speaker, which did nothing to enhance the reputation of that office.

[Guest040616]

Originally Posted by Jackie S

Remember that sleeze bag Congressman from the Sugar Land District south of Houston, Tom Delay who seemed to win even though everybody knew he was corrupt. He even rose to be Speaker, which did nothing to enhance the reputation of that office.

Jackie, Tom DeLay was the House Majority Leader for 2 years but never the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

But I understand your point and it is a point well taken!