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In the country where I live, entry-level politicians earn very little money and often even invest their own personal funds because they're working for the long term. This was told to me by a friend who earned half my salary, yet was constantly working with paperwork and government documents.
Those who work for the government really do not do it for the money or at least until they reach a position so high that they can basically do anything and bend the laws. That is only when they end up earning so much money they forget about serving the people.
Here, politicians are often well-connected or assertive, able to break through bureaucratic walls with their temperament. Or they're the children of prominent politicians.
In my country, children of politicians end up becoming politicians themselves and so the cycle of corrupt politicians end up continuing. These wealthy people launder their money or just spend their money through gambling without any guilt or conscience for whatever they are doing.