You dono not aim with filthy rih politicians. This is what we perform and we should. Lets dig in. Why doesnt matter that politicians are given the they are allowed . I think the reason it matters is it is eroding trust and elected officials and we have lastthe correlation in the four or five decades between delected officials and average americans. At the same time we see the erosion of trust and elected officials. It parallels a loss of trust in institutions thatbu politicians are congress, so thats why the book matters. Always been . I think clearly politicians in general have been people who are richer and if you look at president George Washington was incredibly wealthy and roosevelt prosecutor and a long list. I think the difference is the lower chamber. Members of the house of representatives since about the time i was ten years old, there will is double and the wealth of the average person has been a flat line and have gone down. Right now the average member of congress is about 12 times richer than the average American Household so that gap has grown distressed and the game is rigged. There politicians talking about the game being raped and to exploit his play on some to be but they kind of do have points as illustrated in the book. Populism is rising because there is tension here and americans no longer count on jobs that provide a living wage. They are representative of people who continue to get so they are Public Servants get does not seem to be the problem because they often win. Why . I think its partly the same reason people hate on congress in general they vote for their ownn congress in north dakota fr example, a u. S. Senator and the decade or so hes been in congress is wealth has doubled and his opponent tried to use it again. We see this in many races and for which particular and it was used against him in the democratic primary and didnt work at all. I think basically it doesnt resonate as a Campaign Issue against a specific member but collectively the sense that politicians are getting rich, a little bit problematic but often times using this to feather, its the effect of eroding trust in the institution and use the vote for your own member of congress with net worth was 1. 1 billion, right now is the richest politician. Right now its jb pritzker, governor of illinois, the richest politician in america. His family, i believe there 11 billionaires in his family, hotels fortune and his last race were governor of illinois, there were three billionaires running in the race so thats the kind of money we are talking. The richest senator right now we believe and by the way, politicians make it impossible to know how rich they are, they have to report fins but its a broad range,ertain things they dont have to report so we believe its rick scott from florida formerr governor senat, the richest member of congress. You right about the rich get elected in the elected get rich. Why do rich people even want to talk . I think a bunch of reasons why rich people run, some i think is they really want to do good. I dont buy the argument they are running to cut their own tax rate or Something Like that. think thats overplayed. Easier to own politicians then to be one. I think some of the politicians are running because they really think they can make a difference and in somehe cases expertise, they believe because i was great at quantum computing i can fix the healthcare system. I think thats a little naive. I worked in my past working in politics, veryre successful in e thing, business, military, whatever and it wasnt necessarily transferable to government or even campaigning but a natural sense. I think politicians want to run for office for the same reason the same reason rich people want to buy baseball teams. They are born to do. At the end of the day, i in a way, i understand theres something nice about rich people going into politics because i feel like the on the speech summer drinking coors light or whatever beer you prefer. I dont want to go into Public Service so in a way i admire is that i do think its troubling when the average person representing us is like 12 times richer. Its hard to believe that they really are in touch with the average person. Having said that, unless concerned about rich people running then people getting elected. They cant take leave and they cant quit their jobs to campaign so how is the system not stacked against him . It totally is and not even regular joes. Even people like me. A few a year ago my wife and i were going for a walk, i live in West Virginia. My dad 3 was a prison guard for0 years. I get to do this awesome job where talk about politics and my wife is a republican political fundraiser we are on the squawking i was telling her, unlike since we live in West Virginia, is the political environment want the way it is, i could possibly run open governor see in West Virginia and a competitive u. S. Senate seat that opened up the house. Maybe in some scenario i could run. She said no you couldnt. I was likee why not . She said you dont have enough money. I said political fundraiser and i know a t lot of people doing this for a long time. Let me tell you about people who want to run for president or senate but just for the house. You have to either give your campaign 300,000 or that money from your personal christmas Cards Network before its worth my time to introduce you to Political Action committees and even i, someone whosn worked r a couple of decades, i dont have enough money to run for the house let alone a six pack out there like my dad. I was going to ask about that its incredible when it comes to getting elected, you argue it is an important topic, walked to the examples. Let me start with Nancy Pelosis and ill give you two examples that i think are egregious. Nancy pelosis husband paul is doing the investing. And this is how they can work out. Exactly. In 2020 call pelosi got hundreds of thousands of dollars of Stock Options in tesla. Five weeks later the biden signed executive order mandating federal, local and they police begin transitioning by 2027 in 20 emissions so you can imagine whatha happens with the stock of tesla after the president signed the executive order. Coincidence or inside knowledge . It seems curious to me and the people i talked to know a lot more, it is very suspicious, sketchy. Second example is the next year, 2021, paul pelosi exercises 10 million worth of Stock Options in microsoft. This time two weeks later the Army Announces they are going to go with microsoft is that they are beginning the actual word but the augmented reality headset. Microsoft billions and two weeks earlier paul pelosi 10 million so is that a coincidence . Thing is in giving you two examples in the pelosi is lucky. Very often and i dont know if it still exists for people on social media like to talk investing with the pelosis, every time they make an assessment it would seem to pan out well forha them. And richard for, an interesting time. To go back to covid19 is starting to hit, the average american doesnt know how about this. Donald trump that its going to be over in the blink of an eye. The average american has no idea, we are hearing this thing in china, this virus, a couple of cases or something, we do not how bad it will be in america so richard for at the time was senator but chair of the Intel Committee is have a lot of confidential meetings sells his law like wyndham hotel, investments that would be hurt by lets say a Global Pandemic but then he calls his brotherinlaw and within one minute of hanging up the phone with richard berge, brotherinlaw calls his broker and dumps. Is stopped. Ats it certainly has the appearance of impropriety. It looks like the game is rigged. And again, that is what i think is i dont blame problems on this, but i think it is contributing to the erosion, trust and liberal democracy. Is there any scenario that you is there any realistic scenario that you can see from blind trust inn which he weakend those members to remain separated weekend remain separated . In 2012 Congress Finally passed the s. T. O. C. K. Act which made it illegal to engage in Insider Trading. Until then it wasnt illegal if imagine. Since 2012 its been illegal to engage in Insider Trading and obviously the problem has not gone away. In fact perhaps its gotten worse at that it certainly has not gone away. Now some of the politicians that become embroiled in these controversies and things that look like Insider Trading will say i have a blind trust for my husband or my wife manages my portfolio and so i believe in order to basically and this problem but we should do is ban individual stock trading for members of congress and s their families. I think you should still be allowed to own a mutual fund. You are going to game the system with that but i dont think the blind trust goes far enough in terms of quelling concerns in solving because youll still have examples of people who will be, i mean when russia invaded ukraine and members of congress had invested in you name it weapons of war, they profit from that and then they can say while ive blind trust. Its still a bad look. I dont think its asking look if you want to be the stock market get another job. I dont think its asking too much for members of congress who are making money from the taxpayers who are going to washington to serve their country to say okay during this time while im doing this job im not going to bet on the stock market. Okay so one of the other things, one things, one of the other ways to invest his owning property and i very much enjoyed your details in the book about the Affordable Housing crisis champion on the left and the house being rental property owners. So land Insider Information on land, the there was a story in the book about Dennis Hastert the former speaker of the house who bought up a whole bunch of land before ath big highway was going through. He headed your markina budget or something so this goes back forever. So make was that corrupt compared to just being a member of congress who owns a condo right . Ride this story t are talking about more recent past to do with the squad and this is in the latte liberal chapter. Basically what happened is during covid there was pressure from progressive to put a moratorium on eviction. During covid you shouldnt come but they said you shouldnt be allowed to evict somebody from their home which i can understand that. Whats interesting is these progressives said that we have to reimburse landowners. We have to pay landlords. If the renters cant pay we have to pay the landlord and again is a centerright columnist that makes perfect sense to me but it seems a little out of step with what you think of as the left and its interesting because it leads to members of the squad were landlords themselves. So its impossible to know that this is selfserving but it seems a little bit hypocritical and i would say convenient that they were pushing for landlords to get more money, not just the tenant. Yeah and i think landlords have taken a lot of heat f from the left and we do have Affordable Housing crisis but at the same time people who invest their hardearned money and property and they may have rental income is completely fair game. And its interesting and i urge everyone to read it. Its the opposite of what we send people to congress to do. What are somehe other ways that people can have easy access to outside income to enrich themselves while they are in office . Onewayay bet i talk about seems underwhelming when i bring it up to people they dont look at this number gets a book deal. I think book deals are a big way and in fact literally as we are talking just a couple of weeks ago ron desantis became a millionaire because of a book deal. Ron desantis, about fiveut years ago had a negative net wealth. I think he was in the red 300,000, Something Like that. As recently as six months ago he had a net worth of about 300,000, Something Like that. And now hes a millionaire because the book deal but he wouldnt have the book deal if he wasnt in politics. Thats the way hes cashing on on this fame that he is accrued from politics. What makes it even sketchier though and that happenske is a t of these members of congress will ride a book instead of normal people wanting to go out and buy the book there will be purchases of that book so youll have like a Political Committee by 5000 copies of that book, which number one will put it on the bestsellers list which could actually spark real people buying the book and its even possible that the politician who wrote the book,he because if the fake, well call them fake bought sales, they arent moreic that they will make of royalties or dances so they are personally profiting not because they wrote a great book. Any normal people would ever read. Because Political Committees and super pacs and other groups will be buying it and maybe throwing them away or giving them away. Right and it wouldnt sell at the rate that the normal author could sell their books and the rnc in 2020 by 300,000 worth of books i read in the daily beast. So you have an idea of how to treat book deals. Rightre now members of congress, normal member of congress will make 174,000 a year salary which is a lot more than the average american. In addition to that 174,000 they are allowed to make another 29,000 in whats called outside earned income. My proposal is that if you want to ride a book, you could ride a book if you want. Its free speech, you can promote that book at in congress you cant make more than 30,000 total that is set aside for outside earned income. I dont think members of congress should be profiting so ch off of riding books. And you know bernie sanders, the sky is a socialist and he became a millionaire because he wrote a book in effect he literally said that im paraphrasing look it up in the book, its essentially the one after that he said i wrote a about selling books. You too can be a millionaire if you ride a bestselling book. Okay bernie but i dont have the president ial campaign that helped promote that bestselling book. And the distribution on it. There are pervasiveness in and the public about Congressional HealthCare Coverage and pensions that you ride ride in the book and you make the case that members of Congress First let me say i want to take away lot of things from congress. I want to take away their ability to bet on the stock market andaw their ability to te the revolving door into the lobby. A tenyear moratorium but i want to take away their ability to get rich on book deal so they are a whole bunch of things i would take away. In return i want to pay them more money to actually focus on their real job and that sounds counterintuitive to some folks becausera again the average congressman is making 174,000 a year and thats a lot more than most but they have to travel back andha forth and washington d. C. Is very expensive than i have two live in washington d. C. And they have a home back home. I dont begrudge them making a good living but i would rather they focus on that than on a book and i forgot your actual question. What about the fact that most americans believe they are covered for life which like everything is lined up. You talk about that. That is sort of misunderstood and while were talking about them being rich and having access to other ways to enrichod themselves you note when it comes to health care and pensions its not what people think it is. Totally in one of the funny things about the book that this book is going to outrage some people who dont realize how bad it is and it will calm down some people your conspiracy minded, its even worse. Facebook, theres a claim that the synergy get elected to congress you by the lifetime pension, which is not true. I George Santos maybe did. George santos apparently believed it. He told a friend if i get elected, ill have a lifetime pension. Actually if you have deserved at least five years to get a pension and then it kicks in at the age of 62 and yes its a good plan but its pretty much commensurate to what you would have if you were working a nice government job. Its not a thats or glamorous as people make it out to be. Yes, its good but you have deserved a minimum of five years and wait until you are 62 so its not as outrageous as they you. Might tell and what about their health care . Theres a huge issue. Again they have got a good plan. Its not like utopia for them either. You might remember b this better than me but there was something i found in the book that they can go to enable hospital in d. C. Physically for freeme treatment. There were some loophole like that and that would be awesome if you were in d. C. But by and large they have a Good Health Care plan. But its not worth getting upset. Thats not the top of my reasons to be worried. Say you live in broome maryland and West Virginia now. How does your background in your live in your journey play out . I think its about rich politicians. On the one hand i think its important to understand why normal americans, africanamericans working folks, feel like the system is broke in and feel and its hard to do that if you are in a bubble. By virtue of the background i come from in living in virginia now its helps me stay in touch to be a little bit more sensitive of the populist vibe out there and im grateful for that and i think thats helped me ride the book. At the same time though i think my experience working in washington d. C. , where ive worked for years in politics has also led me to realize some of these conspiracies are not true. They are a lot of really get people to work in politics who are really trying to do the right thing in who are trying to do well and so i think thats reflected in this book. I doee believe we need reform. I do believe we need to be sensit