In 1787, Franklin stood before the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, warning against a generously salaried congress: “Sir, there are two passions which have a powerful influence in the affairs of men. These are ambition and avarice — the love of power and the love of money… Place before the eyes of such men a post of honor, that shall, at the same time, be a place of profit, and they will move heaven and earth to obtain it. ...”
Franklin’s concerns were clearly not heeded. While the first members of Congress were paid $6 per day [how much is that actually in today's U.S. dollars. According to this source it is $30. Thus, it translated into $180 per day in today's money. Did first members of Congress really receive $6 per day back then?], members today receive a base salary of $174,000, placing them above 90 percent of American earners. This does not include additional annual allowances, which can run in the millions. Franklin also warned about the quality of leaders a hefty paycheck would attract:
Thomas Jefferson dreaded the politicization of the Supreme Court.
In an 1821 letter to Nathaniel Macon, Jefferson expressed concerns about the politicization of judicial power:
“Our government is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit, by consolidation first, and then corruption…. The engine of consolidation will be the federal judiciary; the two other branches the corrupting and corrupted instruments.” ...James Madison warned that an unarmed people and biased press would breed tyranny.
In his 1830 autobiography, Madison outlined the preconditions necessary for tyrannical rule:
“Oppressors can tyrannize only when they achieve a standing army, an enslaved press, and a disarmed populace.”"
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