On the contrary, I think congresspeople should be paid enough to be independently wealthy. At least a million dollars per year. I can think of no cheaper way to

On the contrary, I think congresspeople should be paid enough to be independently wealthy. At least a million dollars per year. I can think of no cheaper way to prevent corruption in congress than to make sure every congressperson has fuck you money. I listened to an interview with one of Nixon's biographers a few years ago, and he was explaining how it was that Nixon became so corrupt, and consequently so paranoid. He was not a wealthy man when he entered politics. He got power before he got money, and the temptation to use his power to become as wealthy as his peers and associates was just to great. When your social circle includes the captains of industry, and you're still worried about day to day expenses, something is going to give. If you want to prevent corruption among powerful people, you should pay them commensurate with their power. They have control over 100s of billions of dollars of industry, and are getting paid 200k, what do you expect them to do?