A point I made elsewhere today, in response to someone who claimed that the cure for political corruption was campaign reform:
We had campaign finance reform (remember McCain-Feingold?). That’s not what we need. What we need is to change the financial incentive structure for politicians. Instead of angling for lobbying jobs, board seats, or cushy sinecures at government sponsored entities when they retire [update: or trading stocks on inside information while they're in office], we need to pare that stuff back and instead give them an opportunity to earn significant variable deferred comp.
Congressmen and Senators wield power out of all proportion to their official compensation. Anytime you have a disconnect like that, you are inviting corruption. Better to limit their ability to buck-rake in the private or non-elected government sector after their terms in office, and instead give them the chance to earn a fat bonus based on how the country has done in the wake of their policies. Base it on a combination of metrics: GDP growth, unemployment rate, debt as a percentage of GDP, etc. Measure it over the 5 or 10 years following the end of the politicians’ terms, to smooth out cyclical effects and take into account the lag in the impact of policies. Have the bonuses pay out after a 5 or 10 years.
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