Corruption: Anything You Can Do We Can Do Better

Raided Lobby Firm Still a Force on Capitol Hill

Weren't the Democrats supposed to be draining the corrupt swamp in D.C.? Someone needs to tell them they've got the pumps hooked up backward.

Just what does it take for Pelosi to clean house? Heck, I'd even settle for her admitting that there's a problem. Instead they seem determined to ignore and sweep under the rug every scandal.

There is a difference between GOP scandals and Democrat scandals. The GOP fallen were primarily hypocrits; decrying immorality while serving up a side of sex scandal. And don't get me wrong. That's bad. But ultimately they didn't cost the taxpayers or jeopardize the ethical operation of government. I hate to drag out the "they were only hurting themselves" cliche, but it fits.

The Democrats, however, seem rife with pay-for-play, tit-for-tat, special-deals-for-special-friends, taxes-for-you-not-for-me type deals the compromise every aspect of government operation. It's influence peddling writ large, and no one seems to care, least of all Nancy "I'll Clean Up Congress" Pelosi.

Instead they seem to be watching each others' backs quite nicely. They're determined to "make the problem go away" in true mafia style. Except no one's been dumped in the river. Yet.

I am reminded of a line from the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta "The Pirates of Penzance" in which the pirate leader is invited to give up the pirate's life and go straight. He replies, "I don't think much of our profession, but contrasted with respectability, it is comparatively honest."

Motivation, Efficiency, and Corruption

Ben Stein raises some good points about the "excesses" displayed by leaders of various companies in America:

We all want efficiency and frugality. But banning highly productive means of travel such as private planes is simply misguided. We all want people to work. But keeping them from having face time at large gatherings with their colleagues -- in essence, keeping them from being well-informed -- is a step away from productivity. And kicking the towns that accommodate these meetings is just plain cruel.

I hadn't thought about it from that angle where the automakers were concerned, but making Wells Fargo cancel its Vegas retreat for its top loan officers struck me as heavy-handed--and clueless about how business works. Did anyone stop to consider how much money those being rewarded made for the company in proportion to how much was being spent on rewarding them?

While I'm sure that level of productivity has its own rewards, I'll bet the yearly Vegas trip was at least part of the movitation for a lot of them. Take that away, and chances are they're not going to work as hard next year. How does that help the bank? How does that help its investors? How does that help its depositors?

I'm willing to bet that the amount of money they would have spent on the retreat is less than 10% of the value of the loans these people wrote. And yet if they're 5% less motivated to perform next year? In a year when people are less motivated to take out loans? It could spell the difference between survival and bankruptcy.

Let's not forget that these people are the TOP money-makers. Not only do these people make money for the company, their example (and the subsequent rewards) also serve as a motivation for the other loan writers who didn't make the cut this year--but could next year if properly motivated. Cutting the rewards for the top loan-writers doesn't just demotivate them, but the entire company.

I'm against wasting taxpayer money as much as anyone. But micromanagement of bailed-out companies--by some of the most notoriously bad money-handlers in history--is not the way to economic recovery.

Such political witch-hunts are counterproductive. It also keeps attention away from the real perpetrators of this mess: the government. Every time we start figuring out who the real enemy is they simply point at Wall Street and yell "There's your enemy! Not me! They're wasting millions of dollars!"

And then they sit down to add billions more pork into the Stimulus Bill to help stimulate their next campaigns. And take retreats to Virginia and the Caribbean.

Audit Them All!

I'm not the only one upset by all the tax cheats in the administration. A comment on Instapundit is calling for a moratorium on audits for the middle-class for a year. Others are calling for an audit of all public officials.

That's a great idea! Just Geithner and Daschle owed more in taxes than I make in three years. You want to bolster the government coffers? Shake down the "public servants" who are obviously making boat-loads of money while dodging boat-loads of taxes.

Let's deploy our auditing assets where they can do the most good--and save a bundle on transportation costs!

Either that, or we launch a tax revolt. No taxation without reciprocation!

Draining [Into] the swamp of Gov't Corruption

Weren't the Democrats going to clean up Washington? Oh, they're setting the bar on ethics, all right. As low as they can get it.

RepublicanAmerican has a round-up of "honest mistakes" from the Democrats that would get you or me sent to prison, but gets them cabinet posts and senate seats.

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Rules!

As mentioned before I will be laid off from my job in two months, so I've been doing a lot of thinking about how to further my career. And then it hit me--the one critical thing I can do to improve my marketability:

Don't pay my taxes.

It would be the first step in a glorious political career. Then I can join Geithner, Daschle, Rangel, et al, in running the country and making rules for everyone else to follow.

Is there anyone left in Washington with any moral fiber?