> To have less incentives, you’d actually have to pay politicians more

This theory presumes that when people have more money, their desire to have even more money diminishes. This presumption is not true.

(It might be somewhat true for common sorts of people who find pleasure in simple things and only want enough money to satisfy their basic material needs (food, shelter, medical care). But it's definitely not true when you're talking about people with high levels of ambition, which includes virtually all politicians.)