Sunshine Laws

Sunlight is the best disinfective. — Louis Brandeis

Politicians have evolved innovative ways of raising money for campaign and personal benefit: book advances, speaking fees, foundation donations, etc. Since this clearly political larg.ess often escapes public reporting, these shadowy fundings need to be disclosed by sunshine laws ... at least once a quarter ... or more often.

Payola

Back in the 1960's there was a national scandal when it was discovered that music production companies were giving cash and other consideration to radio disc jockeys to play their records on the air. This bribery scandal was nicknamed "payola" and it caused a general wringing of hands and a few slaps on the wrists. But one record spinner, Alan Freed, lost his jobs and was ruined  ... see: Payola. As a result, such blatant bribery in the sleazy music industry is looked on unfavorably even today. This, of course, doesn't say that it has disappeared ... it is now just further underground.

But there is another sleazy industry where different kinds of payola is rampant ... politics ... making the old form seem like penny-ante poker. Politicians have invented numerous ways of lining their pockets with mucho cabbage ... huge book advances that are never earned back, astronomical speaking fees for pedestrian comments to assembled employees, campaign contributions which are never spent and revert to the politicians, cattle futures trading where only winning trades are recorded, taxpayer purchased items misappropriated when leaving office, etc., etc. Have you noticed how very few politicians depart their jobs as paupers? The vast majority, no matter how poor they were when they were elected, retire into abject luxury.

Enter the Clintons who have used every one of these scams (and more) to go from rags to riches. Hellery Clinton on her own, since leaving the State Department, has received $21.7 million in speaking fees from fawning corporations  ... see: New York Post Article. Have you heard her speak? She utters platitudes in an arm-waving screech that can't be worth her airfare, yet she was in high demand. She also got a $14 million book advance from Simon & Schuster for that ghost-written book, "Hard Choices", that was almost unreadable. This publisher was lucky if it made back half of its payola advance.

These speaking fees and book advances are obviously bribes to curry favor were she to be elected President. Ask Donald Trump ... he was often on the dispersing side of such payola. And how has Bernie Sanders become so popular? I contend that one chief reason is that he has positioned himself outside of this payola swamp ... possibly the main reason that Bernie is ahead of Trump in current polls. (Trump would do well, if he thinks that Sanders has a shot at the nomination, to attack this impression.)  So, of the three candidates still standing, we have one payola receiver, one payola payer, and one who seems not to be either. One can almost handicap this November's election just based upon these profiles.

Rich vs. Super Rich

Hillary Clinton has dug herself into a public-relations hole with her statements about not being wealthy. And she then doubled down by saying that she and Bill were not "rich" because they pay an ordinary income tax rate ... a snide reference to Mitt Romney who mostly pays a capital gains rate.  The Clinton's easily qualify as being rich ... or in the 1% club. Hillary was surely confusing being rich with being super rich. And when these two were in the White House or in the State Department they certainly lived like they were super rich ... possibly this is one reason that they want these circumstance back

The world knows that the Clinton's are easily plutocrats with their large government stipends, secret service protection, two mansions, their multi-million dollar book advances and their six-figure speaking fees. One might also include daughter Chelsea in this category ... she who lives in a $10.3 million apartment and earns $600,000 per year for very little productive work ... see: National Review Story. And add to all of this Clinton wealth, the mega-million dollar (mostly Arab-funded) Clinton Foundation which is a bottom-less honey pot for this family and their large posse of hanger-ons.

But the question does pose itself ... what does being super rich really mean. That old saw that you are not rich if you have to ask the price of anything ... doesn't cut it anymore. So I have constructed what I think would be a newer and better set of tests to determine if one is truly a member of the 1% of 1%-ers ... or super rich.

- If you never wear the same clothes twice
- If your butler has a butler
- If you no longer go to St Barth's because of all the hoi polloi
- If you live off of the interest on your interest
- If you buy a sports team just so you can get the best seats
- If you promise not the bequeath anything to your children
- If you call for higher taxes on the wealthy
- If Warren Buffet asks you to lunch
- If your chauffeur drives his own Maserati
- If your yacht has its own helicopter
- If there are rooms in your mansions that you have never visited

Although they are now only rich, I have no doubt that the Clinton's are well on their way to being super rich and, if they reside once more at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, they will make our current lush-loving residents there look like pikers.