Could have avoided it with one single (major) change: keep money and politics separate. Have an elected position that can control stock prices? No individual stock picks for you. Campaign contributions, bribes gratitude payments, etc, gone.

We need the good hearted intelligent people back, not the well funded candidates that then get to make more money from the position. But the underfunded well meaning people cannot compete. Take the excessive money away and it wouldn’t be this way.