Civics: Want to Be a Millionaire? Don’t Start a Business. Run for Congress.
So, too, was the current status quo in Congress, where members get rich by staying in office.
The Founders were builders, not leeches. They didn’t want to stay in public office for the entirety of their careers. Public service was a short-term contribution of a private citizen to their communities and country.
Recall that, after the American Revolution, some encouraged George Washington to assume the role of king, since he basically had control of the military. To his everlasting credit, he rejected that notion. This was noted by no less than the king of England, who said that, upon forgoing royalty, Washington would be “the greatest man in the world.”
Needless to say, we are short a few Washingtons these days.
To date, more than 300 legislators have served for more than 30 years in Congress. Some 70% of the current members were career politicians before they made it to Washington. No Founder would have even thought to consider laws around term limits because they couldn’t have fathomed hanging out well beyond their welcome, all the while depending on the government dole for their salary.
The natural question is, why would legislators want to stick around for so long?
It turns out that, since 2004, the top 100 wealth gainers in Congress have averaged a 114% increase in net worth while in office, according to a recent Ballotpedia study. During the same period, the median U.S. household saw its inflation-adjusted net worth decline by nearly 1%. That means that for every $1 of wealth the average American lost, Congress’s top 100 gained $121. Wow. Today, at least 30% of senators are estimated to be worth more than $10 million, despite their taxpayer-funded base salary being just $174,000.
How is this possible?
One obvious explanation is that these politicians are privy to information that average Americans aren’t, yet they are still permitted to own and trade individual stocks. The 2012 Stock Act, which requires members of Congress to report stock trades worth more than $1,000 within a 45-day window, does nothing to curb legislators’ trading.
You would hope that they would want to act in the interest of the country without the appearance of personal gain. However, an investigation conducted by a consortium of news organizations that analyzed nearly 9,000 financial-disclosure reports identified 78 members of Congress who violated the Stock Act.
Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I always thought that you were supposed to make money from taking risks and adding value. It seems these guys are simply trading on their influence and knowledge. I think most Americans would be shocked to know how the system actually works in favor of the politicians.
While running for president in 1964, Sen. Barry Goldwater (R., Ariz.) targeted President Lyndon B. Johnson, who added millions of dollars to his family’s fortunes while in Washington. Goldwater said that “small men, seeking great wealth or power, have too often and too long turned even the highest levels of public service into mere personal opportunity.” Unfortunately, he was spot on.
