The esteem in which the public holds Congress has nosedived to the point where Taliban insurgents and serial axe-murderers might be more popular. Reasons for Congress’ single-digit polling numbers go beyond its inability to confront and solve the titanic problems our country faces.
In addition to gridlock, the only difference between the corruption that consumes countries like Afghanistan, where the only way to get anything done is to hire a connected intermediary to bribe an official, and the United States Congress is that Congress is far more sophisticated about wallowing in the sleaze.
We the people have permitted Congress to legalize what, in much of the rest of the world, passes for prohibited activity. Campaign contributions are only the tip of the tainted iceberg, although they are a pretty big tip. In a recent Senate Banking Commtitee hearing about JP Morgan Chase’s casino-like gamble on a hedge that went horribly wrong, you would have thought that the senators who were most vigorous in their defense of the bank’s reckless conduct are JP Morgan employees. In fact, they are. They get a great deal of money every election cycle from the bank designed to keep their muzzles on and their powders extra-dry.
As ably noted by Dana Milbank in a Washington Post op-ed, they condemned the Dodd-Frank Act, which was designed to curb such irresponsible bank behavior the like of which brought down the global economy only four years ago, for failing to identify and restrain JP Morgan from its own imprudence. No matter that the Dodd-Frank provisions designed to do just that have not yet been implemented. As always when it comes to congressional lap-dog behavior in front of the cameras, facts do not matter. The view deep inside JP’s pocket is pretty limited.
Jamie Dimon, JP’s chief who was in deep hibernation while his bank was throwing away a couple of billion on a wager that any semi-savvy patron of Vegas or Atlantic City would disdain, was hailed by the senators he bought as some kind of hero. Their contempt and criticisms were reserved for the federal financial regulators who do not yet have the legal authority to investigate and arrest this kind of bank behavior.
Public financing of congressional (and presidential) campaigns would help break the firmly attached umbilical cord binding Congress to its special interest nurturers, but it would not end the corruption. Two additional reforms are required to have at least a fighting chance of crafting an honest “America first” Congress:
The esteem in which the public holds Congress has nosedived to the point where Taliban insurgents and serial axe-murderers might be more popular. Reasons for Congress’ single-digit polling numbers go beyond its inability to confront and solve the titanic problems our country faces.
In addition to gridlock, the only difference between the corruption that consumes countries like Afghanistan, where the only way to get anything done is to hire a connected intermediary to bribe an official, and the United States Congress is that Congress is far more sophisticated about wallowing in the sleaze.
We the people have permitted Congress to legalize what, in much of the rest of the world, passes for prohibited activity. Campaign contributions are only the tip of the tainted iceberg, although they are a pretty big tip. In a recent Senate Banking Commtitee hearing about JP Morgan Chase’s casino-like gamble on a hedge that went horribly wrong, you would have thought that the senators who were most vigorous in their defense of the bank’s reckless conduct are JP Morgan employees. In fact, they are. They get a great deal of money every election cycle from the bank designed to keep their muzzles on and their powders extra-dry.
As ably noted by Dana Milbank in a Washington Post op-ed, they condemned the Dodd-Frank Act, which was designed to curb such irresponsible bank behavior the like of which brought down the global economy only four years ago, for failing to identify and restrain JP Morgan from its own imprudence. No matter that the Dodd-Frank provisions designed to do just that have not yet been implemented. As always when it comes to congressional lap-dog behavior in front of the cameras, facts do not matter. The view deep inside JP’s pocket is pretty limited.
Jamie Dimon, JP’s chief who was in deep hibernation while his bank was throwing away a couple of billion on a wager that any semi-savvy patron of Vegas or Atlantic City would disdain, was hailed by the senators he bought as some kind of hero. Their contempt and criticisms were reserved for the federal financial regulators who do not yet have the legal authority to investigate and arrest this kind of bank behavior.
Public financing of congressional (and presidential) campaigns would help break the firmly attached umbilical cord binding Congress to its special interest nurturers, but it would not end the corruption. Two additional reforms are required to have at least a fighting chance of crafting an honest “America first” Congress:
First, we need to prohibit the in-kind “gifts” that outside organizations are permitted to confer on Members, such as free trips on airplanes, sponsored junkets to give no-substance speeches to industry conventions and conferences that meet in plush hotels in swanky resort locales, among many others. If an executive branch employee was photographed sitting in a Las Vegas hot tub with a wine glass in hand (as one recently was), Congress would go into high-dudgeon overdrive condemning such outrageous behavior (as it did). If a Member of Congress was caught for posterity in a hot tub disporting with Caesar’s Palace showgirls, his colleagues would ignore the matter.
Second, and this will really get to the heart of the matter, we need to go all the way and ban any and all lobbying whatsoever, be it rapacious banks out for billions or the Little Sisters of the Poor pleading for a few crumbs to feed the homeless. No exceptions. Zero tolerance. Otherwise, it will not work. Let Members make up their own minds about priorities and legislation without any outside influences whatsoever. The result will not please everyone, but it cannot possibly be worse than it is now.
“Rants” is a series of political and social observations written by part-time Canandaigua resident and Canandaigua Academy graduate Richard Hermann. Email him care of Messenger Post Media at messenger@messengerpostmedia.com.
