“Get back to working your nine-to-five job and stop complaining about what we’re doing,” seems to be the attitude emanating from DC and our so-called leaders. It doesn’t require a tremendous stretch of the imagination to come to that conclusion. In my sixty-one years of life, I never recall a time when there were so many critical pieces of legislation that have languished on the desks of our elected representatives.
Regardless of party, there are several bills backed by super-majorities of American citizens that both parties appear unwilling to pass. Critical thought forces the questions of “why?” In this article I’ll focus on only one; The stock-trading ban.
Robin Williams, long before his death, made the statement in his stand-up routine, “Politicians should wear sponsor jackets like NASCAR drivers, then we know who owns them.”
The fact that our, I’ll say it again, so-called elected representatives, don’t represent their constituents has become a meme in-and-of-itself. A history over the last twenty years shows each time Congress has voted itself a raise.
| Effective date | Increase | New salary |
|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2006 | 1.9% (+$3,100) | $165,200 |
| January 1, 2008 | 2.5% (+$4,100) | $169,300 |
| January 1, 2009 | 2.8% (+$4,700) | $174,000 |
(Source: Congressional Research Service)
Modest? Some would call it so. I might be compelled to call it nothing more than a distraction. Most American citizens would be thrilled to have an annual salary like those stated above. I know I would. But is it a mere distraction? Add in that all expenses are paid for them while they’re in Washington doing the nation’s business, and you understand just how lucrative their remuneration is.
We’re made to bear witness to elected representatives living lifestyles of self-appointed elites; attending soirees and cotillions dressed to the nines. Sometimes outfits rival those from the set of the Capitol Citizens in the Hunger Games’ books and movies. If we allowed ourselves, we might take it personally.
The single-most compelling evidence to the notion that those who derive their power from the people they represent, as prescribed in The Constitution, value themselves above all others is the fact that for decades our representatives have actively traded stocks on exchanges; building massive portfolios at the same time Main Street struggles against constantly rising prices. Payoffs? Of course they are.
Corruption, like mushrooms, thrives in dark, dank spaces. The mentally-ill who control the Earth’s population, and desire to destroy it, operate in the shadows. They cannot risk an awake population coming after them. That which is couched as “we have every right to invest in our country’s businesses” is disguised as Random Walks through the market.
Skepticism resonates with the understanding that our representatives possess nearly perfect records of the companies in which they choose to invest. Not only that, they magically invest in companies days before news breaks that said companies secured massive government contracts. (Nodding slowly, acknowledging the obvious epiphany).
There is one belief I’ll always champion in my writing; that we are all children of God. Everyone on this planet is equal and deserves opportunities to succeed that are indistinguishable from others. Those acting contrarily to that notion are, in my opinion, mentally ill. The definition of psychosis is to act against what’s good for society.
The House passed the Stop Insider Trading act in July. It died in the Senate because House Republicans attached a Voter ID measure to the bill (Source: Colorado Public Radio). On October 1, 2026 the Senate recessed and left without addressing the legislation that’d originally been introduced in 2006. No. That is not a typo. 2006. Do you see what I see? There is a dance back and forth; the illusion of actual debate. The illusion of adhering to morals for the sake of constituents. There is nothing further from the truth. All we’re witnessing is scripted and choreographed in the same manner of a professional wrestling match. The outcome of which has already been determined.
These people are performative in public and attend cocktail parties together when the cameras are off; laughing narcissistic-ally at the successes of the aforementioned calculated grift.
As William Shakespeare wrote in As You Like It, “And all the men and women were merely players.”
These people thumb their noses at us. Welcome to the Hunger Games.