Politicians lie because they are incentivized to do so. The simple solution is to increase the costs of ethical violations to an absurd level and keep politicia

Politicians lie because they are incentivized to do so. The simple solution is to increase the costs of ethical violations to an absurd level and keep politicians’ conduct under constant investigation. In the US Army, for example, 25% of general officers are constantly under investigation. This does not mean general officers are constantly breaking the law but that conduct is continuously examined in case they do. The consequences are sufficient to deter so much of the self serving behavior we commonly associate with US politicians. At that point the cost becomes too high for narcissistic personalities to enter that line of work. Narcissistic personality deterrence is what we want from politicians, which cannot happen when politicians largely police their own conduct hidden behind secret alliances.