Something just dawned on me about corporate expenditures in politics--

[Savannahmann]

15. I'm afraid you haven't even scratched the surface.

Let's talk Defense shall we? It's been a long standing tradition that the military officers who push through procurement programs get hired by the companies that got the contract. But, it gets far worse than that. Because Congressmen and Senators are not subject to insider trading laws. Here's what I mean. If you work for Acme Defense Industries, and tell me over a beer that your company is about to get a big contract to make the mother of all slingshots for Wile Coyote, and I buy stock on that information. I have just committed insider trading, that's a felony. But if I am a Congressman, who is about to vote to give the Pentagon money to buy the mother of all slingshots, and I buy stock knowing this will boost the price of your stock, I have committed no crime.

So the people who oversee the entire system, are exempt from the same laws that are supposed to make sure all deals are above board and legit. Now, Acme Defense Industries can contribute to the campaign, and provide me the congressman with many wonderful perks. For example, they can provide me with a private Jet. Now, this isn't free. I am required to pay for the jet. However, I am required to pay for the jet at the rate of one first class seat, a mere fraction of the money it costs to fly the jet over the route. So Washington to Los Angeles, say a thousand dollars for a first class ticket. It actually cost tens of thousands of dollars to fly the jet that way.

Now, ethics rules mean that I have to declare my stock holdings to the Congress, and I have to let people know I got a ride on the Acme Defense Industries jet. If I tour the factory in Los Angeles, I can call it a fact finding mission, and have the tax payers foot the bill for the first class seat.

Now, let's say you are a semi government agency like Freddy Mac. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Mac#Investigations Then you can hold lots of fundraisers for the congressmen who vote on your budget. Oh you may be fined by the FEC for it, but all you do then is transfer the money from one government account to another government account. Then the taxpayers foot the bill for your budget shortfall. Nice system right?

My friend, you haven't even scratched the surface of the problem. I told my neighbor I'm about convinced we would be better off picking 535 names out of a phone book and giving them Congressional duties like we do Jury Duty. Imagine it, you walk to the mailbox, and there is the notice that you have been selected to serve your district in washington DC. You stomp into the house waving the sheet of paper. "God damn it, I just got picked to go to Congress!" Your mate gasps and says. "How can we get out of it?"

Of course, that would mean assigned government housing. "Here you go Congressman, this is the apartment for the Representative from the 8th District of Virginia."

The last person I know of who left Washington broke (other than those who blew it all on legal fees) was Harry Truman. Everyone else leaves Washington quite wealthy, if they leave and aren't hired immediately as an influence peddler.