Text from article(edited for length): ...It may be a cliché that money is the root of all evil. But that does not mean it is not true in certain settings.... Money is the toxin that has put the interests of the few ahead of the interests of all the rest of us, turned control of our politics over to an ever-more powerful oligarchy and perverted our national priorities in myriad profoundly dangerous ways both at home and abroad. But it has not just undermined democracy in America. It has also produced a class of professional politicians and their supporting cast in the policy community who dance to the tune of those who are enriching them today or who will do so tomorrow. The promise of future of employment hinted at over breakfast at the Four Seasons restaurant in Georgetown and a pattern of senior government officials becoming millionaires many times over upon their departure from the government has led many an influential Washingtonian to put their thumb on the scales of national legislative or public policy outcomes. No cash is exchanged—for now. No brown paper bags full of money are handed over (except in the case of the crassly clueless like DHS thug Tom Homan). Instead, there is a you-scratch-my-back, I’ll-make-you-richer-than-you’ve-ever-dreamed subtext to thousands of conversations a day in the city that has pushed our government further and further from the ideal of serving the “will of the people.” Some people are served to be sure. Just not most of us.