Another Fine Mess

Americans are a curious lot. I can say that because I was born in the US, and lived there until I was in my 20s.

The nation seems to have a highly developed ability to get into debt, but very little skill in getting out of it.

Take the case of politicians. Those who are appointed by the president to serve in the cabinet are prohibited from raising funds to pay off their obligations, even if they were incurred as a result of their own failed attempt to reach high office.

Hillary Clinton is a case in point. She ran against Barack Obama and lost, but then she was appointed as Secretary of State. Her campaign for the Democratic nomination was expensive; so much so, that she still owes nearly $800K to Mark Penn, her former pollster and strategist. That’s a lot of money to you and me, but perhaps not quite so much as it seems when you realize that she has already paid his firm $24 million.

Enter Bill Clinton. For the second time since this year, he’s offering himself as the lottery prize in the ultimate raffle. A successful bidder could spend the day with him, and the “lucky” punters are all small-fries, the least well-off contributors on Hillary’s mailing list.

I suppose that I shouldn’t be too surprised that it’s the “little people” who are being asked to cough up. But, what really galls me is that Bill (or Weak Willy, as I think of him), who earned $31 million between 2001 and 2005 by giving speeches, doesn’t appear to be interested in working for it. Instead, he’s attempting to trade on his celebrity status.

I guess that’s politics for you.

Bruce Hoag, PhD, CPsychol
Work Psychologist

http://www.p-advantage.com