Forget "Go West Young Man" - Just Become a Politician

It use to be that the path to enormous financial success was to head down to Wall Street or start your own business, especially a business Silicon Valley would like. He could then get financing and expand and take it public. My, things have certainly changed. The NEW Path to wealth in America is to become a politician.

It has always been understood that becoming a politician was about spending your life in a worthy cause - namely public service. As a child of the Eisenhower era, the integrity of politicians was beyond dispute. After all, when you look at a five star general like Eisenhower and the Patrician Franklin Delano Roosevelt, it became obvious that these men were a cut above everyone else.

In the early 1960's, there was a Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives named Sam Rayburn. This was a man of the utmost integrity, and he spent many decades of his life in the Congress. When he died, his entire estate was worth no more than $5000. This tells you something about where his interests were, and weren't.

America has been blessed with more than its share of worthy politicians who have occupied high office including the Presidency. You will remember that Ronald Reagan never, ever took his jacket off in the Oval Office. He had too much respect for the history that had taken place in the White House to even consider removing his jacket.

Jimmy Carter however, was a man use to stepping in cow dung. He had no problem sitting in his jeans behind the same desk that Abraham Lincoln sat behind. Now we have come to a cross roads in American history. We have entered a period in time when politics itself can be the means to great wealth. Honest wealth, that is.

Politicians have been taking money under the table, since before Socrates drank the hemlock. Strange isn't it by the way, that the two greatest teachers in world history, were both put on trial, wrongfully executed, and martyred. We're talking about Jesus Christ and Socrates. So much for justice.

What we are seeing now for the first time in American history is that politicians can derive great wealth openly, and honestly, meaning within the law by simply being a politician. Senators and Governors can build huge public war chests of cash that individuals seeking favors and favorable actions are only too glad to give to.

New York Democratic Senator Charles Schumer is an example of a man who takes in a lot of money. He has a war chest of between $15 and $20 million dollars at his disposal. Prior to his re-election in 2004, he took in $6 million from Wall Street investment houses alone. Of course poitical races can be very expensive. The 1998 Senate contest featured Chuck Schumer and Alfonse D'Amato, a race that cost $44 million. This was only eclipsed by Hillary Clinton's race that cost her $30 million. Rudolph Giuliani dropped out of that race, but had already spent $21 million. Rick Lazio ended up running against Mrs. Clinton, and spent almost $41 million while losing in the process.

By the way, we are talking about running for the United States Senate, a job that pays less than $170,000 per year. How about former disgraced New Jersey Senator Robert Torricelli, who left office with a $2 million war chest still intact? He could have given the money back to his contributors. He chose to keep it, which is legal under the law. He cannot spend it on himself, but he is able to dispense sums to just about anyone else he chooses. Do you think he's doing the right thing? This now brings us to the Presidential candidates. Let's take a look.

The Clintons were supposed to be wiped out after Monica gate

You will remember that the Clintons while in the White House had no money. Their friends had to raise funds for the Clinton defense team which cost tens of millions of dollars since the government gave special prosecutor, Ken Star over $50 million to investigate the Clintons.

Upon leaving the White House on January 20, 2001, the Clintons went from a zero net worth to something approaching $50 million according to recent sources and public documents. Not bad for a bankrupt couple vacating their power base - namely the White House. Bill Clinton now makes upwards of $10 million per year for his speaking engagements. He gets $5 to $10 million per published book. What's more striking are the private financial deals he is exposed to. He's involved in real estate, and venture capital.

Al Gore blows out Bill Clinton

Al Gore on the other hand lost the Presidency maybe, to George W. Bush, and then grew a beard and went into rehab to try to reenter society. Apparently, he has been super successful at making the transfer because he is now worth in excess of $100 million, starting with zero in 7 years. He hooked up with the right Democratic moneymen, who put the former Vice President in touch with the powers who run this country and what do you know, Gore became a ground floor player in Google, the search company. He now owns cable properties, and even has a money management firm with billions under management. Not bad for a guy that has never held a job in private industry, and knows nothing about money management.

Giuliani - Another study in wealth

Rudolph Giuliani while he was Mayor of New York, divorced his second wife, and gave her a multimillion dollar settlement. Let's see, the Mayor was a federal prosecutor for 15 or 20 years before becoming Mayor. He was then Mayor for 8 years. How was he able to make millions of dollars to pay a divorce settlement, when a prosecutor only makes maybe a $100,000 plus per year, and a Mayor makes $195,000 per year? You figure it out. Once Giuliani was unleashed from the burdens of office, he probably made between $30 and $50 million in the last six years advising corporations on terrorism and security.

John McCain-from Prisoner of War to $50 million plus

Supposedly Senator McCain's finances are handled by his wife Cindy. Somehow, they have managed to put together wealth per public documents of between $36 million and $53 million. The Senator certainly didn't inherit it. His father was a 4 star Admiral in charge of the Pacific Fleet during the Viet Nam war. McCain himself spent almost 7 years as a prisoner of war being tortured on a daily basis while people his age were hanging out in business school. When you consider his $50 million net worth, he obviously learned about business from somewhere else other than the real world.

John Edwards and the Haircut

What kind of guy is John Edwards? He runs around championing the rest of us poor schleps, raises millions of dollars from poor people, and the unions representing those same poor people. At the same time the man lives in a 28,000 square foot house, and gets $400 hair cuts which he charges to his campaign. This is arrogance brought to a new level.

His wife is terminally ill with metastatic cancer, and he probably spends less than one day per week with her, while he spends six days per week with the rest of us. What's going on? He publicly screams about the evils of private equity and hedge funds, while at the same time he has millions invested in the same institutions he is complaining about. Fortress Investment which is a hedge fund operator gave him almost a half a million dollars in fees as a principal advisor. He's got something approaching $5 million invested in Fortress. Who's kidding who?

Edwards was questioned about his Fortress investments, and his involvement with them. He responded that his purpose was to learn about the various financial markets. He then added he wanted to learn about their links to poverty. Is he serious? Does he think we are all Rednecks?

In summary, the founding fathers who were literally risking their necks to a hanging in order to provide us, their descendents with liberty, would shake in their graves if they understood what we have to put with in our choices for public office. The best and the brightest for the last several decades have not gone into public careers. They have gone into investment banking, Silicon Valley, and the Internet. With the money available to politicians, it just might be that the best and the brightest will go into government service in the future. The difference is they may do it in order to become rich. It's certainly not like the old days.

Richard Stoyeck

StocksAtBottom.com

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Forget "Go West Young Man" - Just Become a Politician