By system I mean the framework of government, the constitution, laws passed by Congress, and court rulings.Of course high pay does not mean we will have more dedicated and honest people. It does mean we will have more people with better skills applying for government jobs and running for office.The best and brightest at what exactly? Croney/nepotism -- padding one's earnings, lying, cheating, stealing, hiding the facts. Do you not imagine that big business makes millions by paying off political officials with donations? A stupid person has to be honest or he will be exposed. A slick wolf will be able to hide his intensions until it is too late... Pay the teachers more and do we get better educated students? No, we get well off teachers who live in the best neighborhoods and send their kids to private schools. Pay higher healthcare primiums and do we get better healthcare? No, we get worse healthcare, longer waiting, and no house calls. The love of money is the root of evil.
IMHO, most people that run for office or accept jobs as leaders in government do so because they really want to make our country better. The problem is Washington, not the people we send there. We continually send people to Washington only to be disappointed. The problem is not with the people, it's the system. We should begin changing the system by changing our election and lobbying laws. Candidates should not have unlimited amounts of money from corporate and special interest groups to conduct their campaigns. Business and special interest groups should have no more influence on our elected officials than you or I. The current laws that allow lobbyists to write our laws and buy votes for those laws have got to be changed or nothing in Washington will ever change.
People are the system.