This is part of the reason I firmly believe politicians, and many government employees, should be paid significantly more.

We inherently push some of the most talented citizens away from politics because they can’t afford to take the job or they quickly realize that their capabilities could earn them significantly more money elsewhere. You then end up with a ton of candidates who only enter politics as a pseudo-retirement job or are slimy enough to shamelessly make money in scummy ways while in office.

Hot take: Senior politicians should be paid many multiples of their current salaries, and in exchange they aren’t allowed to trade any securities (looking at you, Pelosi). They can hold their assets in some variation of a blind trust comprised of index funds.

The most talented, high-achieving, politically-minded young people I know all abandoned politics as it wasn’t viable financially or pursued jobs in big tech, PE, etc. because they knew they’d kill it (some planning to pursue politics later in life). The people who stuck with politics are, in many cases, the epitome of mediocrity. And it shows.