Prevent Corruption among Federal Regulators

Brief
The Office of the President is admired throughout American society. However, that respect has been capitalized on by recent presidents for personal gain. Six-digit speaking fees and lucrative board positions fuel the perception that the President may go soft on people that he or she could receive fees from after leaving office.

In order to combat this, we should raise the president’s salary from the current $400,000 to $4 million. However, anyone who served in the office would be barred from accepting speaking fees or lucrative board positions for personal gain after leaving office.

And it’s not just the president. Any number of people working at regulatory agencies know that they have lucrative job offers waiting for them within the industries they’re currently regulating. They have an economic incentive not to burn any bridges in their current positions before moving into the industries they’re supposed to be policing on behalf of the rest of us.

Cabinet members and heads of regulatory agencies should have their salaries increased from $275k to $1 million, but be barred from accepting any speaking fees or industry employment for 10 years post-service."Corruption in this case would be diminished by paying government officials more. The government has a printing press – it should be using it to empower regulators to act on behalf of the people instead of relying upon officials ignoring their own economic interests."

Problems to be Solved

 * The respect people have for the Office of President is damaged by the view that presidential policies are, sometimes subconsciously, motivated by a desire to have lucrative offers and good relationships after leaving office
 * Regulators have an economic incentive to “take it easy” on the industries they’re regulating

Goals

 * Allow the president to promote policies free of undue economic influence
 * Restore the trust people have that the president is motivated by helping them instead of the people who have the most lucrative post-office offers
 * Empower regulators and policymakers to make decisions free of market influences

Guiding Principles

 * Trust
 * Transparency

As President, I will…

 * Increase salaries for government officials that operate in a regulatory capacity to much higher levels
 * Bar anyone serving in a regulatory capacity from working as a lobbyist or within the industry they were regulating after leaving their position
 * Pledge to accept no speaking fees or board positions for personal gain after leaving office
 * Request that the next President receive a raise to $4 million but then be barred from any speaking fees or board positions for personal gain after leaving office