Dear Mr. Berko: You’ve never expressed your political opinions. Some of us had hoped you’d comment on Donald Trump’s presidency. You’ve made many pointed comments about the House and Senate, but you have never commented about our country’s political direction. I and others in my area would like to read your comments.
Next question. My stockbroker recommended McDonald’s. My spouse and I like its food and new service. Please give us your opinion on a 200-share purchase for each of our conservative individual retirement accounts. We both are 57 and have about 10 years before we begin taking distributions from our accounts.
— N.D., Springfield, Ill.
Dear N.D.: This is a financial column, not a political column. This column doesn’t do politics. I may criticize politicians, from both parties, for things they have or haven’t done, but I won’t take sides on political philosophies, local political races or national elections. Politics can be too much like religion; we can’t reason someone out of an idea he hasn’t been reasoned into.
During the past 40-plus years of writing this column, I’ve met hundreds of politicians (county, state and federal) at various venues, and I usually have a few minutes of scripted conversation with them. Several days later, like clockwork, I’ll receive a warm letter that says the politician enjoyed our too-short visit. And a week later, his major-domo will invite me to lunch with the politician, who, when dessert is served, wants an endorsement from me. Congress today is like the Tower of Babel. Members of Congress consider graft, payola, lies, personal enrichment and sexual harassment to be entitlements and necessary for success. This deportment is a precursor to immense wealth — and I’ve never met a congressperson who wasn’t worth at least $1 million. So when a reader tells me that his kid wants to make big money and asks what profession the kid should pursue, I always recommend a political office (if the kid lacks the brains to be a doc or a lawyer) because that’s where the big bucks are.
