The OLD Philosopher – John M. Miller
A few years ago, Peter Schweizer wrote a book called Secret Empires. He is the co-founder and president of the Government Accountability Institute, which is an organization of investigative journalists whose primary aim is to expose various kinds of corruption among government officials. Secret Empires focuses particularly on insider stock trading among high government politicians and officials.
The author takes devilish delight in revealing how many well-known figures in Washington makes piles of money by letting members of their families or friends know of major changes in policy and regulations which can result in accruing great wealth in a quick fashion. If only a quarter or half of what he writes is accurate, it is no wonder why so many people who know about these infractions are so disgusted with government in general and with certain politicians in particular. Democracy is threatened when citizens no longer trust politicians.
Schweizer is an equal-opportunity skewer of reputations. Members of both parties are exposed for their alleged skullduggery in chapter and verse. And, it appears, the higher the office, the greater the graft.
No one who reads this book can come away without having at least some lingering doubts about officials they may have greatly admired for years. The questions that kept running through my mind as I read these shocking revelations were these: Is all of this true? How would the literarily accused try to defend themselves against these accusations?
Aside from of the veracity of every single investigative allegation, it is obvious that many people in fact do leave the presidency, Congress, or federal agencies much wealthier than when they first assumed their positions. The primary reason probably is that they were privy to changes in policy that were coming that could hugely enhance investors in certain American corporations or other companies in other countries.
Schweizer concludes that by hook or by crook, shell bank accounts or corporations enable nefarious government leaders secretly to hide the transactions which result in the amassing of millions or even billions of dollars. It was not by chance that these fortunes were made; it was insider knowledge and insider trading that made it all possible.
Because it is Congress which passes the laws and regulations which determine and alter policies, Congress could eliminate this problem by passing laws with very stiff penalties or prison sentences to stop these egregious practices. But, as with passing term limits, that is not likely to happen.
Maybe everyone who enters any high government position should have to put all their liquid assets into blind accounts which would be administered by highly respected fiduciary institutions (if such can be found.) Any sales or purchases of other assets thus would be enacted only by the officers in the fiduciary institutions, not by the owners of the assets.
Because many of the people who are elected or appointed to high office are fairly wealthy when they attain their government positions, this would prevent them from becoming far more wealthy on the basis of privileged information they acquire when in office. However, as in term limit legislation, this is not likely to occur soon, if ever.
Lord Acton decreed, “Politics corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” We might also observe that insider-knowledge corrupts, and really big insider-knowledge corrupts really big time. – December 31, 2022
John Miller is Pastor of The Chapel Without Walls on Hilton Head Island, SC. More of his writings may be viewed at www.chapelwithoutwalls.org.