Regulatory Capture Quotes
Between the politicians and the financial industry lobbyists the laws are written so that there is sufficient room for enough self dealing so that members of Congress can get rich using methods that are questionable but have been legislated as legal and the Congressional rules have been written so that they are “not unethical”. Many members of Congress leave the institution much wealthier than when they entered but have received salaries that are insufficient to build that kind of wealth. Many then accept lobbying or other jobs at very high pay representing the people and corporations who have been the subjects of their legislative efforts. Other members do not avail themselves of the “legal” self dealing as the practice is not universal.
While this is a common complaint in the American political dialogue at the beginning of the 21st century, it is interesting that this was the conclusion of a foreign political scholar studying that period—one who was generally a great admirer of America.
Trump often used the phrase "Drain the swamp" in his campaigning to mean get ride of the establishment figures who had, for the most part, dominated politics, for decades. When he was elected, he had to appoint a cabinet, but when he did so, it was almost exclusivly made up of people who had been a part of the political and corporate establishment -- the swamp.
On June 12, 1789 a Senate committee proposed a federal court system for the nation. Maclay described it as:
