This cheeseball graphic uncomfortably represents Vermont’s commitment to ethics in our political process. It’s sad, it’s perfunctory, it’s just plain awful.

The title quotation neatly, depressingly, encapsulates our recent history with ethics enforcement. If Our Political Betters were capable of embarrassment, and if they are they hide it very well, the Statehouse would be full of beet-red faces.

The quotation came from Deputy Secretary of State Lauren Hibbert, speaking last month to a House committee that had just acknowledged, in a bill on the cusp of becoming law, that Vermont can’t afford ethical standards in our politics.

But hey, at least the Legislature is consistent. They’ve never had the stomach for any real ethics regime. They just want to make it seem like they care. The result: an ethics commission that’s woefully under-resourced, has no investigative or enforcement powers, and does all its business in secret.

A couple years ago, the Legislature tried to improve the situation by expanding the commission’s remit to include ethics in municipal government. However, the commission had to abandon the job because the Legislature didn’t provide the necessary resources.

And now, lawmakers are poised to walk back another tiny step forward on ethics, which is where Hibbert’s comment comes in. Two years ago, the Legislature enacted penalties for candidates who failed to file financial disclosure forms that can be fairly described as perfunctory. Still, better than nothing, I guess.

But now, lawmakers are about to roll back the penalties because the Ethics Commission doesn’t have enough resources to process the forms and report scofflaws. The rollback bill sailed through the House without debate or dissent, and will now be considered by the Senate.

The Ethics Commission is made up of five volunteer members. Its “support staff” consists of two part-time employees, because that’s all it can afford. I realize that times are tight but in our state budget, properly funding an ethics regime is the equivalent of pocket change. If they wanted to do it, they’d find a bit of money for the purpose.

Vermont regularly ranks near the bottom for state ethics rules and enforcement. The Legislature — and the governor — are effectively thumbing their noses at anyone who wants to improve that situation.