There is no job other than a politician where you can have this level of conflict-of-interest and remain on the job. Supposing you're a judge and a case about (say) mismanagement at a aged care home comes up and you have $500,000 per year in dividends from a company which supplies aged care homes, you would be required to recluse yourself. Obviously. But politicians get a free ride.
And it's sad. Humans do not currently have the social intelligence necessary to thwart a global issue like climate change. The individualism in us is currently just too great a force to adjust ourselves to think of the common good. We see this now where racism, tribalism, nationalism, greed, religion all conspire to ensure that the wisdom of the collective is outweighed by the selfishness of the few.
And what do we do with this Senator from this poor, backward US State which could gain benefits as a participant in the new economy, but will now further relegate itself on the back of a dying coal industry. What can we, the people living halfway around the world in Australia, do to fight against this selfishness as the oceans on OUR shores rise 3.8mm per year and we bake in OUR summers.
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