I believe most every politician is as crooked as the day is long - coming in with modest resources and leaving as multi-millionaires.
However, let's play a game of "What Would You Do As Speaker?"
Here's how the game is played - you have two options for your next move:
1) Cut spending drastically. Get rid of the departments we all hate. Trim the fat. Get rid of worthless workers (sounds like most all of Congress).
Sound good? There's a flip-side to this move.
The world (and our nation) runs on debt money. When debt is created then money is created. When debt is paid off then money is paid off.
If you get rid of all the wasteful spending and cut by, let's say 25%, then your move will put the nation into major deflation - if not depression. Millions will lose their jobs. The supply chain will come off its gears. Those in debt won't be able to make payments - so closures, forfeits, and foreclosures will be the name of the game. Those in power will steal the assets - since they have the claims on the debt. The middle class will get destroyed. It will be the largest transfer of wealth in human history.
2) You could leave debt spending where it is or even increase it. The upside to this is that the nation won't spin into deflation of depression (as easily).
The downside is that the government is the one now propping up the debt piston (money piston). It is mainly them and them alone. They hire more 'workers' onto the government gravy train. They force good technology into the dumpster and replace it with trash - just so they can create the new debt to replace major areas of our economy that have served people well (electric cars anyone? windmills? gas stoves?)
This option will also enrich the power mongers as they gain more control over society through their dictatorial regulations and taxation.
Think of the game as going to Las Vegas.
You go there with some hope.
But the dealer always wins...
I guess there is a third option: take care of people, because most people want to be taken care of.
Dennis Prager was asked a question once about why Republicans always promise fiscal restraint, but then end up going off the rails. His answer was simply that most people want to be taken care of, which I interpret as creating a pressure that most Republicans can’t resist. He said he could not blame the Republicans for caving under those circumstances.
As long as most people aren’t willing to forgo government support, we will see the GOP going along with all this piling on of debt with more government printy money to see dependent constituencies satisfied. That is the idea here.
$34 trillion of debt might actually save this nation … because we can’t afford to even maintain our current spending levels right now.
Since both parties are useless and they’ve used the Constitution as toilet paper toss all out on their rears! Perhaps the country needs a benevolent despopot like Agusto Pinochet or Francisco Franco.
A new government could be formed with Cadre like MTM and a few other non-traitors.