The 21st amendment is unique among the 27 amendments of the U.S. Constitution for being the only one to have been ratified by state ratifying conventions.
Congress exercised its disposal rights by passing the 21st Amendment to state ratifying conventions, not state legislatures, because the bootlegging interests had their tentacles so deeply entrenched into law enforcement and politics at state, county and local levels that it feared that the state legislatures would not ratify in the seven year window Congress had attached to it. Thus state ratifying conventions.
The 27th amendment is an odd duck. This safeguard to prevent congress critters from raising their own salaries was submitted with the proposed Bill of Rights in 1789, but was not ratified at that time.
So in 1992 the 27th (and last) amendment was ratified by the great state of Michigan.
I believe the Capitol feedlot critters were able to comply with the letter of the law by making their pay raises automatic, after elections.
As CA swineherd Pelosi (or was it Boxer) put it, it messes with their “dignity” to have to do these things you know, bicker over dollars. But they take the money.
Bottom line:
1. the framers anticipated the venality of future ruling classes, but it took two hundred years for it to become evident or important enough to actually do something about it.
2. they also anticipated this country would be in serious trouble when one part of it discovered they could vote themselves payments from the public till.
So if we have one party and the leaders of both parties raiding the treasury, what does that mean?
Trouble in River City. But they’ll just print more money ...