Craziness consumes the nation’s capital
How did my old hometown of Washington, D.C. get so crazy? Our elected “representatives” are turning on each other like a pack of African hyenas fighting over recent road kill.
This makes no sense when the present U.S. economy is now leading the world in prosperity. Unemployment is the lowest in decades. Most businesses can’t find enough workers to fulfill their needs. So why all this self-destructive behavior?
It would be easy to blame one person as the cause of all this, but that would be a misconception. It’s far more likely explained as the ancient struggle for power and greed, which repeats itself over and over again throughout human history.
Most Americans are unaware of reported massive corruption that takes place in our nation’s capital. Instead, many people see politics as a noble struggle between the good guys and the bad guys. Of course, which side wears which label depends on one’s personal point-of-view.
As far as corruption goes, Colorado Congressman Ken Buck, author of “Draining the Swamp,” is one of the few who puts his cards on the table. As a result, Buck says he is persona non grata among most of his colleagues for exposing what he calls the “game.”
According to the congressman, the game goes something like this: Take committee assignments, for example. You would think these powerful positions would be based on merit and perhaps seniority.
But he says the real deciding factor is money and lots of it.
In order to obtain an assignment, a “contribution” must be made to the party for which you are a member. A Deputy Whip is $2.5 million. A conference chair is $5 million. Majority Leader is $10 million. Speaker of the House is $20 million. Other lesser positions require several hundred thousand dollars.
When Buck first arrived in Congress, he was introduced to the “game.” He didn’t have a clue on how to raise the required Benjamins. But seasoned players told him not to worry. The answer would follow at a future meeting.
Washington, D.C. has a minimum of 13,700 registered lobbyists. According to Distinguished Professor James A. Thurber, another 100,000 remain in the shadows. Together, they bring to Washington about $9 billion. Now you can guess who was at the second meeting Congressman Buck was told to attend.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the rest of the story. Obviously, through “donations” by various lobbying groups, members of Congress are able to “finance” their passages to obtain prestigious committee assignments.
The sad part of this “pay for play,” or better known these days as quid pro quo, is it’s been happening for years. While the game may be immoral and unethical, it is legal. (After all, who makes the rules?) Don’t forget, both political parties participate in this process.
Elected officials willing to play the game get preference over those who do not.
It’s also pretty clear these players have no desire to let a Washington outsider like the president interrupt their way of doing things.
Congressman Buck’s main fear is the eventual destruction of the country by runaway expenditures due to the game. Presently, the U.S. is exceeding a “mind-numbing” $22 trillion in debt and going deeper each day. This amounts to at least $70,000 for every man woman and child in the country.
With unfunded liabilities, such as Social Security and Medicare, the debt amounts to more than $90 trillion. Former congressman and professor David Brat estimates the United States will be looking at $127 trillion in unfunded liabilities by 2027. Sooner or later, a financial collapse is inevitable. That’s when your 401K and bank accounts become basically worthless.
Members of both parties talk about the debt but actually do nothing to solve it. Making things even worse, a number of presidential candidates want to add trillions more by promising additional “free stuff” to potential voters, as well as spend trillions on “climate change” gimmicks that do nothing to solve the overall global problem.
So, the big question for today is: Will Congress pass major legislation this year to benefit America’s future, or will media headlines continue to be dominated by baseless “investigations” that go nowhere?
If Buck is right, progress may not be dependent on the will of individual congressional representatives, but on those wearing Saks Fifth Avenue shirts, while wandering the halls of congressional buildings and walking into offices with checkbooks in hand.