Many elected members of Congress enter politics with a desire to effect change. But at least in the public's perception, they are widely seen as corrupt [1,2]. Despite efforts to prevent insider trading by members of Congress, it is still widespread and highly lucrative [3]. According to Business Insider, seventy eight members of the 117th Congress violated the STOCK act.
Leaving aside the restrictive "quid-pro-quo" requirement established by the Supreme Court in McCormick v. United States, the "delayed gratification" version of corruption in which members work to help private business interests while in office and are rewarded afterwards with a lucrative appointments as lobbyists for the companies they previously dealt with as lawmakers, creates the very strong appearance of corruption. So why do people who were initially motivated by their principles end up compromising them for money?
The answer may be a combination of envy and a feeling of inequity. Members of congress are paid well by most people's standards but very poorly compared to the people they mix with in Washington: the industry leaders, the wealthy donors, not to mention highly paid ex-colleagues who are now lobbyists. As they are wined and dined by people who they see as their equals or even their inferiors, they may come to resent the fact they they are being much less well rewarded for the hard work they do than they deserve to be. That may lead them to relax any standards they had about public service and the appearance of impropriety. From there it's a short step to becoming one of them.
[1] https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/51398-most-americans-see-corruption-as-serious-problem?utm_source=chatgpt.com
[2] https://news.gallup.com/poll/656891/trump-job-approval-rating-congress-jumps.aspx?utm_source=chatgpt.com
[3] https://www.ballardspahr.com/insights/alerts-and-articles/2024/10/politician-trading-if-you-cant-stop-them-join-them?utm_source=chatgpt.com
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