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Why is U.S. Rep. William Jefferson still in office?


michaelskis

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Here it is an elected official was found with $90,000 in marked bills in his freezer and a long history of corruption, yet he is still in office. Why did this guy get re-elected and the democrats back him and not the very active female African American democrat opponent?

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I agree. Boot out all the corrupt ones -- problem is they police themselves.

Hopefully the Pelosi proposal for ethics reform including a ban on all gifts and trips from lobbyists will pass -- though I'm sure that plenty will oppose the bill.

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I have strong feelings about the issue of political/government corruption. Of course we all abhor corruption in any endeavor, but political and governmental corruption are particularly galling. We elect people who we believe (or hope) are honest people with integrity. And we get dissapointed with regularity it seems.

I blame a lot of it on the ammoral and anti social behavior of the accused elected officials. However I've often wondered if we've put them in a situation where they have little choice.

What is the pay for a US Senator or Representative? Something like $150,000 a year? The men and women who serve in Congress are mostly top notch folks, who are educated and very smart. In the private sector these same people could be making $500,000+++ a year. The last statistic I saw about North Carolina is that the average salary for a CEO in the state is $3.5 million.

We ask these mostly upper echelon people to give their all, to make our country and our values work. But then we don't pay them a commensurate salary!

To the rest of us mere mortals, $150,000 a year sounds like a lot. But for a family of four, who must live in Washington D.C. this doesn't go such a long way. General expenses for being a Congressman are also very high--buying their wives new gowns for every gala, operating a car(s) in D.C., etc

Perhaps if we paid Congressmen a reasonable salary, for what they're worth, and for the extremely difficult job they do, the corruption might go away (?) Would everyone here agree that being a Congressman is comparable to being a private sector CEO? Ask a highly sophisticated CEO in the States if he would work for $150,000 a year!!

I feel this obscenely low salary encourages corruption---these people probably feel pushed against a financial wall, and when corruption shows it's ugly head and offers itself, some might feel it's the only solution for continuing financial survival.

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I have strong feelings about the issue of political/government corruption. Of course we all abhor corruption in any endeavor, but political and governmental corruption are particularly galling. We elect people who we believe (or hope) are honest people with integrity. And we get dissapointed with regularity it seems.

I blame a lot of it on the ammoral and anti social behavior of the accused elected officials. However I've often wondered if we've put them in a situation where they have little choice.

What is the pay for a US Senator or Representative? Something like $150,000 a year? The men and women who serve in Congress are mostly top notch folks, who are educated and very smart. In the private sector these same people could be making $500,000+++ a year. The last statistic I saw about North Carolina is that the average salary for a CEO in the state is $3.5 million.

We ask these mostly upper echelon people to give their all, to make our country and our values work. But then we don't pay them a commensurate salary!

To the rest of us mere mortals, $150,000 a year sounds like a lot. But for a family of four, who must live in Washington D.C. this doesn't go such a long way. , operating a car(s) in D.C., etc

Perhaps if we paid Congressmen a reasonable salary, for what they're worth, and for the extremely difficult job they do, the corruption might go away (?) Would everyone here agree that being a Congressman is comparable to being a private sector CEO? Ask a highly sophisticated CEO in the States if he would work for $150,000 a year!!

I feel this obscenely low salary encourages corruption---these people probably feel pushed against a financial wall, and when corruption shows it's ugly head and offers itself, some might feel it's the only solution for continuing financial survival.

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^^^Well it so happens in our culture that women's attire at public functions is expected not to become static. i.e. for whatever reason, our culture expects women to wear a fresh, new gown most of the time, especially to high profile galas like these folks attend regularly. To wear the same outfit, or the same 4 outfits over and over, would draw negative attention to these wives of congressmen, as well as congresswomen.

Sorry that's the way it is. I'm not sexist for noting how our culture views these things:)

Congressmen, or the husbands of congresswomen don't have the same fashion pressure. A man can own 3-4 tuxedos or nice suits, and that is all that is expected. That is why I brought that up---going to the constant galas and functions a congressman goes to can run into big money buying these kinds of wardrobes.

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^^^Well it so happens in our culture that women's attire at public functions is expected not to become static. i.e. for whatever reason, our culture expects women to wear a fresh, new gown most of the time, especially to high profile galas like these folks attend regularly. To wear the same outfit, or the same 4 outfits over and over, would draw negative attention to these wives of congressmen, as well as congresswomen.

Sorry that's the way it is. I'm not sexist for noting how our culture views these things:)

Congressmen, or the husbands of congresswomen don't have the same fashion pressure. A man can own 3-4 tuxedos or nice suits, and that is all that is expected. That is why I brought that up---going to the constant galas and functions a congressman goes to can run into big money buying these kinds of wardrobes.

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^^Actually the last sentence of my first paragraph did mention that congresswomen are under the same fashion pressures as the wives of congressman.

Believe me I'm the antithesis of a sexist:) When the ERA was a huge issue in this country, I was a man who proudly wore my ERA button everywhere I went. I'm a proud feminist:)

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^^Actually the last sentence of my first paragraph did mention that congresswomen are under the same fashion pressures as the wives of congressman.

Believe me I'm the antithesis of a sexist:) When the ERA was a huge issue in this country, I was a man who proudly wore my ERA button everywhere I went. I'm a proud feminist:)

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