Charlie Munger on politics/politicians

[plainolebill]

On politicians: I think all politicians tend to behave badly under the peculiar pressures of their trade. So I think they've chosen a profession where it's hard to behave well. And if it's hard to behave well and you're in a miasma of wrong incentives, then you get a lot of bad behavior. I think we're lucky the system has worked as well as it has. In my state, we have a thoroughly gerrymandered legislature, so you have to be an extreme nut on the right or an extreme nut on the left, or you're not allowed in the legislature. And there are ten sane people who creep in every decade, and at the end of the decade the right and the left agree and throw them out. How well are you going to behave in that kind of a system? You can't say you hate the other people in your chamber. You need this ever-growing tide of money. You can't really tell the truth as it is because you'll offend various people that are important to you. It's a miracle it ever worked as well as it did. I suppose it's better than absolute despotism. But sometimes it's a little close.

Link to full article (http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2010/09/24/charlie-munger-on-communism-botox-and-goldbug-jerk.aspx)

[Rookies]

This is not entirely correct to me. In my lifetime, when pols FUBARed things, they acknowledged their messes and stepped down.

But the article chronicles what's wrong.

It is this: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

The amounts donated, given, hidden on behalf of corporate interests normally (but also, to a far lesser extent,larger unions) to protect, retain, advance and promote their special interests has grown untramelled. And, with this present Con U.S. Supreme Court has become much, more entrenched. It is a disaster- a daily Titanic waiting to happen

Pols, being pols, eagerly grab the reigns of power to connive to protect the most important part of the populace- THEMSELVES, through the most absurd and connived gerrymandering.

The Krusty the Clown political run on the Simpsons is the most believable depiction of what goes on.

Democracy in disrepute.