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Harry Truman would have been waiting for the punchline. He had no money, but he thought he shouldn’t denigrate the office of President by writing books or cashi

by fipple 8y ago

Harry Truman would have been waiting for the punchline. He had no money, but he thought he shouldn’t denigrate the office of President by writing books or cashing in with a corporate gig. Medicare was partly passed to get him health insurance! Yeah, it was a long time ago.

TangoTrotFox 8y ago
Engaging in actions after office that would suggest behavior while in office could have been 'for sale' is really quite a new concept. It only started with Gerald Ford [1] in 1977. Quite amusing. The banks engaged in extremely reckless behavior that caused immense suffering to millions and devastated the world economy, yet exactly 0 individuals faced any personal accountability. And then the president gets out of office and goes to give speeches on Wall St. at $400k a pop. Oh yes, and Eric Holder the former president's Attorney General who also chose not to give any consideration to prosecution, simply resigned and immediately returned to Convington & Burling -- a law firm who had as clients many of the banks responsible for the financial crisis. --- Quite fortunate for establishment politicians that Americans are so divided. Instead of focusing on events like this, we instead attack each other. In a two party system so long as you make people hate and fear the alternative enough, it doesn't matter what you do - since you can safely rely on people resigning themselves to 'Well.. it's better than the alternative.' It's almost like politicians might have even realized this and are utilizing division of people as a tool to ensure the perpetuation of the current political class... [1] - https://www.thoughtco.com/former-presidents-speaking-fees-3368127 https://www.thoughtco.com/former-presidents-speaking-fees-33...
- j-c-hewitt 8y ago
  It's not a new concept historically speaking. It just runs counter to contemporary, generally Progressive (as in early 20th century Progressive vs. modern progressive) ideals of republican virtue. Offices being for sale and run for profit is the old way of doing things both in the US and around the world. America's laws are generally supposed to prevent it because it has been the natural tendency for government offices to be spoils.

by fipple 8y ago

TangoTrotFox 8y ago

Engaging in actions after office that would suggest behavior while in office could have been 'for sale' is really quite a new concept. It only started with Gerald Ford [1] in 1977. Quite amusing. The banks engaged in extremely reckless behavior that caused immense suffering to millions and devastated the world economy, yet exactly 0 individuals faced any personal accountability. And then the president gets out of office and goes to give speeches on Wall St. at $400k a pop. Oh yes, and Eric Holder the former president's Attorney General who also chose not to give any consideration to prosecution, simply resigned and immediately returned to Convington & Burling -- a law firm who had as clients many of the banks responsible for the financial crisis. --- Quite fortunate for establishment politicians that Americans are so divided. Instead of focusing on events like this, we instead attack each other. In a two party system so long as you make people hate and fear the alternative enough, it doesn't matter what you do - since you can safely rely on people resigning themselves to 'Well.. it's better than the alternative.' It's almost like politicians might have even realized this and are utilizing division of people as a tool to ensure the perpetuation of the current political class... [1] - https://www.thoughtco.com/former-presidents-speaking-fees-3368127 https://www.thoughtco.com/former-presidents-speaking-fees-33...

j-c-hewitt 8y ago
It's not a new concept historically speaking. It just runs counter to contemporary, generally Progressive (as in early 20th century Progressive vs. modern progressive) ideals of republican virtue. Offices being for sale and run for profit is the old way of doing things both in the US and around the world. America's laws are generally supposed to prevent it because it has been the natural tendency for government offices to be spoils.