It's Saturday and time for my favorite letters to the editor of the Wall Street Journal this week.
MP's Bad Example Hurts Democracy
Quentin Letts's amusing summation of British members of Parliament being most appropriately hoist on the petard of their public sanctimony and simultaneous private enrichment ends with his concern that this may cost the public's faith in democracy ("British MPs Pad Their Expense Accounts," op-ed, May 14).
Indeed, it is faith in government, not democracy, which is getting a salutary shaking. Voters need reminders, lest we give up our freedoms too easily, that for all the rhetoric of good intentions and Santa-like beneficence, government is not benign and noble, but lousy at self-censure (think earmarks, Fannie Mae and Medicare fraud), easily corrupted by power, and tends to tyranny, whether by dictators or benevolent utopians.
Heather R. Higgins New York
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Parliament's Lessons for Congress
The petty expense-account pilfering by members of the British Parliament ("School for Scandal," Weekend Journal, May 16) offers two valuable lessons to U.S. politicians: High taxes and salary caps are inherently corrupting; and, when too much power and privilege are granted to the political elite, it is human nature to exploit both in order to game the system for personal advantage. The British political class that arrogantly ignored the two axioms richly deserves the contempt of the governed, and must be held accountable for its irresponsible behavior.
U.S. legislators and the president should heed the lessons of the British melodrama and rethink their plans to raise taxes (generally not a good idea in a recession anyway) and set limits on executive compensation. The more Barney Frank and friends scheme to keep money out of the hands of greedy businessmen, the more those businessmen will scheme to circumvent the rules and avoid sending money to greedy politicians in Washington. Europeans, including members of the British Parliament, waste a great deal of creative energy and credibility capital looking for ways to exploit gray areas in rules and regulations. That's because their pay is limited and their tax burden is oppressive.
Perhaps Rep. Frank and his colleagues should hop on a private jet for a fact-finding trip to London before taking any more steps to fix capitalism; and, while they're at it, they should pray that the cost-per-fact ratio for congressional fact-finding junkets never gets released to the American public.
Doug Ryan Palm Coast, Fla.
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Hard to Fling Mud And Stay Clean
Your May 15 "World-Wide" column (page one) contends that "the spat" between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Central Intelligence Agency "is the latest sign of how Bush's prosecution of the war on terror is putting the Democrats on the defensive."
Not exactly. The spat is a sign of how a purely political attack on the Bush administration has rebounded to bite the liberal Democrats in Congress. Ms. Pelosi's clumsy attempts at fancy footwork are a delight to behold.
Dudley McFadden Sunnyvale, Calif.
