I don't like to mix my political and financial journalism - because the former usually causes diversity-loving liberals to try to get me fired from the latter - but Market Watch today has a column by me today discussing an idea I first proposed in Forbes years ago, which turned out to be my most unpopular article ever: that congressional salaries are very low by historic standards, and that congressmen should be paid the capitalized value of all benefits and staff costs in one lump sum at the beginning of each term.

I think (among other things) that this would attract more normal people, instead of the vain, power-hungry oddities you get in politics today. But most readers just can't get past the idea of paying politicians more.