We have politicians in our country to represent the moral issues of the masses. The problem intrinsic in the system is that we pay these people to be moral. What moral person would accept money to be moral? Of course there must be compensation because these people need to make a living, however in order for these people to have real moral clout (instead of the shoddy reputations they have now), I think all politicians should be subject to immediate death penalty upon persecution for any felony and quadruple sentencing for any infraction below that. I would also suggest politicians be paid four times what they’re paid now so there’s still an incentive for the position. If this was instated I think the position of a politician would be held in much higher respects and people would value and honor their public servants instead of feeling as if they have been cheated. If anything these changes would also increase the socio-econmic status of politicians in our country, with their boosted income and tangible moral highground.
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Politicians are in power to formulate laws which, many times, control the use of the federal budget which is an immense amount of money. Businesses can profit greatly from the use of these funds and business men are rather rarely driven by morality. They spend a great deal of time and skill influencing the utilization of these funds. Morality is rarely a case of black and white decisions and all slopes are slippery. No matter how much money politicians are paid, the price of remaining in power remains disastrously high. Shooting corrupt politicians may delight members of the sporting gun society but it is more likely to induce agility than better morality.
In spite of the wild expression, there is a core here that makes sense: Governemnt officials could be subjected to more sever penalties for a breach of trust. For instance, a police officer should be held to a higher standard. Maybe not death, though.
I also think we need to make sure the salary for elected officials remains high enough to attract good candidates -- and not those who plan on profitting from their abuse of power. The devil is in the details, but you had at least two good points.
I disagree that politicians are elected to be moral. They are elected by people who want something.