> if the chance of being rewarded with a "cushy" job after leaving office is so compelling then why are so few people interested in becoming politicians? Becom

> if the chance of being rewarded with a "cushy" job after leaving office is so compelling then why are so few people interested in becoming politicians? Becoming a politician is a bit like becoming a musician: Spend the best years of your life 'putting your time in' with a 98% chance you'll never make it big. Only the 2% that made it big get offered those $500k/year sinecures. If you're already in the powerful 2% you've probably already compromised on your principles many times to get there, so the $500k/year for compromising them a little more is practically free money. If you're entering politics, though? As you've only got a 2% chance of making the $500k, the expected value is only $10k. Not much of a motivation.