Tell us something we don’t know.

[two_bit_score]

Needs an electoral collage.

I'd like to see how that would work.

 

[pmsmechanic]

Ask every politician. He'll say he is a public servant.

What they say and how they act are usually not very similar.

 

[orezok]

 

[Oaktree]

Yes, we do have RCV. I think it's stupid. I try to research the candidates, and slowly gravitate toward the one I like best.

Or dislike the least.

As it used to be. And you could argue it was a hedge against corruption, in theory. But party machinery put real practice against that theory, coercing often naive and badly-inexperienced office holders into doing the bidding of the party, once elected. Starting with the Reconstruction era and continuing through the Gilded Age, there are countless examples of this.

Plenty of scandals before that too. Maybe a little less so in the very early days of this country when many of the leaders were idealists trying to make this relatively new form of government work. Unfortunately, politics is a magnet for opportunists and outright crooks. Maybe they didn't start out that way, but power has a way of corrupting.
Keep in mind that in the early days of this country only a relatively small portion of the citizenry had the right to vote.

 

[LouNY]

Once elected officials started thinking they should be getting pensions and staying in office more then 2-3 terms and becoming life time politicians instead of citizen legislatures is when it all went to hell in a handbasket.

 

[scootr]

Why do most all politicians become millionaires in office

 

[bigtiller]

Why do most all politicians become millionaires in office

One reason is, the Emoluments Clause has no teeth for enforcement.

 

[scootr]

One reason is, the Emoluments Clause has no teeth for enforcement.

Most presidents make huge bank from 'speaking engagements' after office. For example >

In 1992, the year Clinton won the presidency, his net worth was an estimated $700,000. When he left office in 2000, he and Hillary had at most $2 million in assets, and possibly up to $10 million in debts (mostly legal fees). So no, Clinton did not make millions while serving as President.

Of course, as soon as he left office, he began making plenty of money. In 2001, he reported making $13 million in speaking fees. Hillary got another $2.5 million advance on her book. The former president later signed a $15 million book deal himself. Since leaving the White House, the Clinton’s have reported 8 figure incomes every year, mostly from speaking and writing. Even so, as of 2023, I don’t think anyone has reported a net worth as high as you claim he had while president. Most estimates but the couple’s net worth at around $120–130 million, some estimates are as high as $190 million.

 

[two_bit_score]

What they say and how they act are usually not very similar.

But they always say they do.

 

[two_bit_score]

Yes, we do have RCV. I think it's stupid. I try to research the candidates, and slowly gravitate toward the one I like best.

Texas will probably ban RCV next year. Only question is to what extent. I am for a complete ban statewide in all elections.