It is that, Phyllis - but they are a pre-select group or they would not be in politics. I read somewhere that our nation’s represenatives and senators should be by "raffle" with each one of us responsible to serve if called and that we would not do any worse that those in office the past 9 years! At least "we’d ask, read the bills, committee reports, and try to learn … " and I agree. Right now, what we have are people who for the most part are marginally healthy mentally, love themselves (notice the "Ken" hairdos), and have a penchant for not only lying outright but defrauding our own nation as a Rite of Passage to them.

Bach there, someone mentioned paying her taxes because it was the law - that’s precisely what it is about. We obey because we are supposed to. The times I have go through a "yellow light" I am on alert for about 90 days thinking I’ll be pulled over!

It has to be genetic! Because people tend to move toward jobs, professions, etc. where they are more comfortable, or like the "group think." I can remember as a child when other kids were playing "hookie" and mentioned it, or talked about it later, I could not get it through my head how they could "do that" when our teachers required us to be in school - it was just not something I could understand, and I am not dense, or stupid if learning ability counts in this stuff.

Conversely, as a professional, I do know that when I have found myself in ‘marginal’ peer groups, or even slightly tempted to not perform within my own standards, I have run not walked away … fast! Therein lies a key to human behaviour … and I did not learn this from home - it’s been part of me from "day one."

That being said, there was a book mentioned on Wowowow - by a psychoanlyst couple about the Third Reich, so I got it - Death of a Jewish Science. Not being Jewish, I wondered so read it. Good heavens, it was a heavy read, but each line was to be savored. In fact, it reminded me of our nation, right now.

My post disappeared, but … I agree with you. In re reality I loved this:

"The 3.3% profit margin reported by Morningstar includes the funds held in trust, but if adjusted to include only all costs of their legitimate business operations of producing and marketing their administrative services then their profit margin is actually 22.3%. That moves them into first place on the Fortune 500 list of profitable firms, in front of the network and communications equipment industry (20.4% profit)." ~ Don McCanne, M.D.

Even Morningstar is skewing public accounting standards, and still not helping Americans by permitting the insurance companies to "misguide" the public.