Foremost among the numerous catastrophes that Joe Biden has presided over is inflation, which has risen to a 40-year high. 

This has caused prices of fuel, energy, food, and all everyday commodities to skyrocket, wreaking irreparable havoc on the budgets of regular people.  Most citizens have no option but to postpone or even cancel purchases they can avoid.

However, these hassles seldom apply to the denizens of Washington, D.C.

The Daily Caller reported that Democrats such as House majority whip James Clyburn of South Carolina and Connecticut rep. Jahana Hayes are using their campaign fund to enrich family members.

Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings revealed that Clyburn paid his grandson Walter A.C. Reed a sum of $21,000 in campaign funds since April 1.

Reed describes himself as Clyburn's campaign manager on his Twitter account and is a salaried employee of the Clyburn campaign.  He has been paid $58,500 by the "Friends of Jim Clyburn" campaign committee since October 2021.

The campaign committee also paid $7,500 in rent on April 29 to 49 Magnolia Blossom LLC, controlled by Clyburn's daughter Jennifer Clyburn Reed as well as Walter Reed.  The Clyburn campaign has paid the Magnolia Blossom more than $70,000 since March 2020.

Democrat billionaire Tom Steyer's failed 2020 presidential campaign also paid Magnolia Blossom more than $45,000 for office space.

FEC records also revealed that Clyburn has paid over $260,000 to family members since 2010 via the "Friends of Jim Clyburn" campaign committee.

He's not the only one.

Next is Democrat Connecticut rep. Jahana Hayes.

During Q2 2022, Hayes paid her son David Crenshaw $1,245 from her campaign fund and, since entering Congress, has paid David $18,283.

During Q4 2021, Hayes's campaign committee "Friends of Jahana Hayes" has paid her son $15,118 since entering Congress.

During Q4 2021, FEC records reveal that Hayes paid over $15,000 in increments of $282 each to "David Crenshaw" under the category of "Payroll."

During Q4 2021, "Friends of Jahana Hayes" paid Hayes's daughter, Asia Clermont, $2,551 from her campaign fund in increments of $359 each, and since entering Congress, the group has paid Asia $21,299.

Despite scrutiny for paying her adult children tens of thousands of dollars merely to store passwords on her campaign, Q1 FEC records show that Hayes is still paying her daughter Asia upwards of $700 per month.

Recent FEC records revealed that Hayes is still paying her son David around $300 per month.

Hayes's children weren't the only beneficiaries of her charity.  Hayes reimbursed herself $250 for "petty cash" despite the FEC having strict rules about petty cash reimbursements. 

These revelations come on top of better known ones about Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters also paying her daughter from campaign funds for questionable services, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez paying her boyfriend inflated amounts for "services" from her campaign cash, as well as engaging in deceptive fundraising oddities.

So what do we make of this?

Clyburn and Hayes provide a perfect illustration of the workings of the Washington Democrat Establishment, which is a self-serving, self-promoting, self-preserving, corrupt, and nepotistic cabal. 

Members of the establishment include elected officials, government officials, the leadership of the armed forces, investigative and intelligence agencies, corporate houses, Big Tech, think-tanks, foundations, academia, members of the legacy media, etc.

For elected officials, the Establishment facilitates the funding of political campaigns.

Every politician, irrespective of whether he is running for office or if he is already elected, always runs a campaign.  This campaign is usually a multimillion-dollar organization whose primary goal is to fundraise.

Transferring campaign funds directly to the accounts of close relatives would obviously be problematic and perhaps a blatant violation of the law.  Hence, they innovate and hire their close relatives, assigning them important designations such as campaign manager or communications director or chief information technology officer.  This justifies paying them salaries.

There are other methods of enriching close relatives.  Perhaps campaign functions are held in hotels run by children.  Perhaps rallies are organized by firms run by children.  Perhaps the food and beverages are bought from restaurants owned by close relatives.  This could apply to every activity that the campaign conducts.  It is likely that these firms are set up in the names of relatives solely to feed off campaigns like parasites.

Beyond campaign jobs, the establishment also helps family members secure lucrative employment in the private sector and even business deals in hostile foreign nations.  This relationship is always symbiotic.  In exchange for favors, laws are passed that benefit the entities.  Perhaps government subsidies or lucrative government contracts are handed out.  Perhaps there are other private understandings.  Hunter Biden is the prime example of this arrangement.

Establishment members often help each other out in times of need.  It has to be remembered that Clyburn's endorsement of Biden helped pave the way for his victory in South Carolina in the Super Tuesday states a few days later.  This helped Biden clinch the nomination.  In exchange, Clyburn's misuse of his campaign funds will be overlooked.

If any establishment member loses an election or retires, the establishment ensures that the members are hired as lobbyists or media pundits or serve on the boards of big corporations.  They are given rewarding book contracts, handsome speaking fees, and other hugely profitable deals.

Few or perhaps none in the corporate media care to expose these cases of corruption by Clyburn or Hayes — not only because of fears of being called "racist," but because everybody is profiting from it in his own way.  Perhaps close relatives of media people are hired by campaigns in exchange for favorable coverage. 

The establishment specializes in legalizing corruption.  Laws have been purposefully authored in such a manner that they are easy to circumvent.  If laws are tough, they are simply not enforced on establishment members.

In the end, nobody wants to topple the gravy train that feeds them.

The same establishment threw a conniption fit whenever President Trump conducted meetings with political leaders at his properties.  The establishment also used the might of the government to hound President Trump and look through all his finances, desperate to find issues.

While regular people are suffering due to Biden's misgovernance, the Establishment remains insulated.  This is why Establishment people exhibit Mary Antoinette–like behavior while addressing regular people, such as boasting about driving expensive electric cars while the price of fuel rises.

At times, the citizen is baffled as to why Washington has spent over $54 billion on the defense and welfare of Ukraine while politicians claim to have no fund for a border wall across the U.S.-Mexico border, which would protect the US.

Why are U.S. leaders more focused on Ukraine than the U.S.?  This is because a great deal of the funds meant for Ukraine will go to crony corporations, who then send anything from modern weaponry to food aid to Ukraine.  The corporations then find creative ways to repay all those who voted for aid to Ukraine.

President Trump rightly referred to this very establishment as the swamp.

If the nation is to thrive, the swamp has to be drained.

Image: Pixabay, Pixabay License.