The Corruption of Culture

The three headlines on the New York Times front page today:

1. The Penn State child abuse scandal
2. A "New Fraud Inquiry as JPMorgan's Loss Mounts"
3. The Barclays' LIBOR fixing scandal

It seems that anything that can be labelled "big" is now corrupt: big banks, big-time college football, big Pharma, etc.

And if politics can be called anything, it is big.  Spending on the presidential election this year is forecast to be close to $2 billion.  Most Senate races will cost between $50 million and $100 million.  And many House races will exceed $5 million in spending.  

Yet our election system may be the easiest to change.  Politicians all have the same primary concern--winning the next election.  If voters are willing to demand that candidates commit to limit outside spending and eliminate the revolving door that Congress and the Administration use to acquire high-paying lobbying jobs, then candidates will become less corrupt.  The key is to punish candidates that don't make the commitments.  

As much as I think the no-tax pledge is terribly damaging, I have to admit that it has been effective because those who have ignored or broken it have seen their chance for re-election diminished.  

The only effective tool for voters is denying candidates what they want--winning.