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Townhall
Finance...
Mr
Smith Goes to Washington and Comes
Home Rich
By Bill Tatro
November 17, 2011
Mr.
Smith Goes to Washington, where is
Jimmy Stewart when you really need him?
If
you remember, the Frank Capra
classic features Jimmy Stewart as Jefferson Smith, Boy Scout hero
tapped to
replace a deceased U.S. Senator.
As
corruption runs rampant, Smith
(Stewart) is assumed to play along with whatever is proposed by the
statewide political
machine. However,
in one of the great
Senate filibuster scenes, Smith (Stewart) fights for truth, justice,
and the
American way by taking on the machine and ultimately emerging
victorious as he
collapses in a filibuster heap.
Sounds
a little like Superman.
Well,
both Clark Kent and Jefferson
Smith are heroes of mine. I
wonder what
JS would say today if he learned that Congressmen and Senators come to
Washington, DC in the main, with limited wealth (sometimes with an
exception),
and leave with eye-popping assets.
Somehow,
these so-called pillars of
our political system have been able to exclude themselves from insider
trading,
the very same activity that resulted in prison sentences for Raj
Rajaratnam and
Martha Stewart.
The
advantage of being on a committee
and learning where a natural gas pipeline will be installed, or which
companies
will receive government grants seems so advantageous that an idiot
should be
able to achieve financial success.
Of
course, Congress is certainly
filled with a lot of those, and they make the assumption that without
this
advantage they would not be able to live on their measly salary and
government
expense accounts.
Just
examine the before and after net
worth data on dozens of Congressmen, even in your own state, and not
only will
you be stunned, you’ll also understand why many people seek higher
office. Many years
ago, my ex-wife’s grandmother’s
father was the mayor of Buffalo, NY.
In
those days, people would spend
tens-of-thousands of dollars to achieve a job that paid a few thousand
dollars
per year.
On
the face, you would ask, why?
Family
members would look, smile, and
simply say “why not, it’s public service,” and perhaps an opportunity
to get
into the candy store.
The
more things change, the more they
stay the same.
Insider
trading is just another perk,
like a good parking spot.
Wouldn’t
that be worth a filibuster?
If
Jefferson Smith were here today,
you know what he would say.
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this and other columns at Townhall
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