[From article]
government officials in prison, either currently or in recent times. Among them were a mayor of New Orleans, a mayor of Detroit and a mayor of Washington; a governor of Connecticut, a governor of Louisiana, two governors of Illinois and four members of Congress.
However much these and other government officials may have richly deserved being behind bars, the country does not deserve to have its confidence in government repeatedly undermined. A country with 100 percent cynicism about its government cannot be governed. And nobody wants anarchy.
In short, the damage done by government officials who betray the public's trust goes far beyond the money stolen or misused, or whatever particular abuse of power landed them behind bars.
[. . .]
public confidence is much easier to maintain than it is to repair.
[. . .]
Cheap politicians turn out to be very expensive politicians, in the way they waste money, even if they are not stealing it.
We could pay every member of Congress a million dollars a year — for a whole century — for less than it costs to run the Department of Agriculture for one year.
The least we can do is make it harder to bribe them.
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell091014.php3
Cheap Politicians
By Thomas Sowell
Published Sept. 10, 2014
public confidence is much easier to maintain than it is to repair.
[. . .]
Cheap politicians turn out to be very expensive politicians, in the way they waste money, even if they are not stealing it.
We could pay every member of Congress a million dollars a year — for a whole century — for less than it costs to run the Department of Agriculture for one year.
The least we can do is make it harder to bribe them.
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell091014.php3
Cheap Politicians
By Thomas Sowell
Published Sept. 10, 2014
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