I say the law is "quaint" because the founders believed that congressmen would make most of their dough in salaries. As if! Congressmen collectively dish out $3 trillion dollars in cash a year and regulate much more than that. As a result congressmen are better at the stock market than every mutual fund. And hey, it's all legal! Let's not forget the perks - Michelle Obama's salary trippled to $300k/yr when her husband was elected to the Senate. This wasn't a news story because it was completely ordinary.

The average corporation has a profit margin of 5%; These are people that are trying very hard to turn a profit. Even if you believe congress is spending money perfectly it doesn't take a genius to suspect that more than 5% of that money is getting siphoned off in favors on the way in.