Corruption and waste among politicians

While France and Spain are going through the mechanisms of putting some of their politicians in prison or accusing them of corruption, the US is not immune to this trend -to call it in a polite way. In these days when many average citizens are loosing their jobs or home or unable to take care of their basic needs it is more than disheartening to know that many of the politicians who were supposed to serve us are nothing else than criminals or are being investigate for their possible involvement in influence peddling. More than 30 US politicians, 7 of them members of a defense procurement committee are being investigate in congressional ethics inquiries. It has been disclosed that billions of dollars a year are spent on defense projects that the Pentagon does not want. What is more upsetting is that influence reaches the highest echelons and money is been used for unnecessary projects. The Defense Authorization Bill providing $680 billion in military spending for the coming year that President Obama just signed includes among other unwanted hardware: $2.5 billion for ten additional transport aircraft even though the Pentagon said it had enough of them; funding for an alternative engine for the F35 fighter that the Air Force says it does not need; and a destroyer that according to the Navy is obsolete.