The Baron de Montesquieu candidly admitted that all governments inexorably become corrupt over time.  His solutions (the separation of powers, along with checks and balances) were designed to merely slow down the corruption, not eliminate it.  Nor do the framers of the Constitution provide us with much hope for a solution to the problem of our faithless lawmakers.  Wherever you have power and money, you have corruption and greed.  There is no way to fix the system.

What if we break the system instead?

Let us take the good Baron de Montesquieu at his word: our lawmakers will always be corrupt and greedy.  Why not work this corruption into the system as a default assumption?

A constitutional amendment should be passed with the following changes to our Legislative Branch:

1. The annual salaries of all congressmen shall be raised to $25 million per year, tax-free.

2. Members of Congress may declare any large-value asset they own as having a tax-assessed value of one dollar each.  This means that every house, yacht, sports car, ranch, and brothel owned by a member of Congress is essentially free from all property taxes (federal, state, and local).  This privilege would continue for ten years after a member leaves office.

A reader would be forgiven for having a violent knee-jerk reaction against these proposals.  Why reward corruption with wealth?  No corrupt congressman would suddenly become a virtuous public servant simply because his salary and benefits have increased so dramatically.

The proposals above are simply the bait for the trap that awaits any faithless lawmakers.  No member of Congress could resist such tempting offers as part of a constitutional amendment.  The proposals continue below:

3. Immediately upon assuming office, a congressman's full financial information becomes available to the public.  Every penny he owns, every asset, and every investment can be seen and scrutinized by both his constituents and his political enemies.  This continues for ten years after a member leaves office.

4. All immediate family members of congressmen are required to provide full public financial disclosure as well, including half-siblings, ex-spouses, and stepchildren.

5. Annual tax audits will occur for all the people identified above, continuing until ten years after the congressman leaves office. 

6. Any organization or individual who donates a total of more than $10,000 to a congressman's election campaign will be audited.  This would include PACs, special interest groups, and non-profit organizations.  Donations from foreign sources must be publicly declared by the recipient and scrutinized by federal law enforcement.

7. Any current or former member of Congress who is found guilty of corruption (including bribery, insider-trading, and treason) will, in addition to the usual legal penalties, have all high-value assets confiscated by the government.  The Fifth Amendment requires "just compensation" under the Eminent Domain clause, and so faithless lawmakers will therefore receive precisely one dollar for each of their major assets (the ones declared in item number 2 above).

The annual $25-million salary is also part of the solution.  It is not intended to bribe the congressman into behaving virtuously; its purpose is to raise the cost of buying a congressman to an exorbitant level.  Dishonest business leaders, political bosses, and other sources of dark money will discover that the rates for buying a pet lawmaker just went up much farther than they can comfortably afford.  In addition, they now run the risk of being publicly identified and targeted by all the rounds of tax audits.

This amendment would radically change the relationship between Congress and the American people.  If you decide to run for Congress, every single member of your family will be staring at the prospect of having the IRS breathe down their necks for at least the next twelve years, all because of you.  During your election campaign, wealthy donors will be careful to avoid giving you too much.  Once you take the oath of office, it is now the American people who own you, not your big political donors (the ones who were willing to get audited).  If you behave like a good public servant while in office, you will become quite wealthy and live a life of luxury.  If you betray our trust, we will financially destroy you, along with your family.

I admit that this proposed Amendment will not solve all the problems that plague our government.  No doubt it contains loopholes and opportunities for abuse.  But the massive additions in congressional salary and benefits increase the likelihood that it would actually get passed.  It creates strong encouragements for good behavior on the part of our lawmakers and contains terrifying punishments for corruption.  Ultimately, the question comes down to what we the American people want: a Congress who is afraid of special interests or a Congress who is afraid of us?

Edwin W. Moore is the pen name of a Texas historian.  He is writing a book about the Texas Navy and its role in keeping the Republic of Texas safe from invasion.

Image: CristianIS via Pixabay, Pixabay License.

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