A huge disparity exists between the net worth of members of Congress and the constituents they're supposed to serve. We've called attention to this fact in the past, but a new report from The Guardian has given us a window into how our "leaders" in D.C. are able to amass so much wealth.
According to the Guardian's analysis of personal financial disclosure data, members of the U.S. Congress have invested as much as $96 million in the very companies they help regulate:
Overall, the senators are invested in 338 companies – including tech firms such as Apple and Microsoft, oil and gas giants including ExxonMobil and Antero Midstream, telecom companies including Verizon, and major defense contractors such as Boeing – in the five sectors as categorized by Sludge.
Not only are the senators far wealthier than most of their constituents, but they’re in a prime position to increase their wealth via policymaking.
It’s not illegal for members of Congress to have personal financial stakes in the industries on which they legislate. But such investments raise questions about lawmakers’ motivations. If a representative on the House financial services committee owns hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stock in Bank of America, how might this investment affect their questioning of Bank of America’s CEO in a hearing? Could it influence how they legislate and vote on banking issues?
While some members of Congress do try to limit possible conflicts of interest others claim their personal finances could never influence their conduct as elected representatives of the people, or fail to acknowledge concerns about their finances.
What can the average American do to push back against this kind of potential corruption? How can We the People fight a system that seems so unreachable and entrenched?
People in power will always seek to use that power to pad their bank accounts. No policy or law can end human greed. But there is a way to decentralize power away from Washington, D.C., and drain the swamp of corruption that is our nation's capital.
An Article V Convention of States can propose constitutional amendments that limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, mandate fiscal responsibility, and impose term limits on federal officials.
Limiting the power of D.C. politicians can curb their ability to make sweetheart deals with big corporations. Big industries target Congresspeople because they know that Congress has massive power to regulate their businesses. If Congress didn't have such great power to regulate, those businesses would have less incentive to pad their pockets, and Congresspeople wouldn't be able to give an unfair advantage to those companies in which they invest.
Limiting the terms of office for federal officials can have the same effect. As politicians spend more time in D.C., they learn how to game the system to enrich themselves. If those men and women only had six or eight years in our nation's capital, they wouldn't be able to so easily use their position to amass wealth.
We can do all of this with an Article V Convention of States. A Convention of States is called and controlled by the states and has the power to propose constitutional amendments. Once those amendments are ratified by 38 states, they become part of our nation's founding document.
Millions of Americans have joined the movement, and fifteen states are on board. Sign the Petition below to add your name to the list!
