1. BARREL, several politicians including several who have run or are running for the highest offices in America, as well certain former or current civil servants, stand accused of POLITICAL CORRUPTION and thus if true are not worthy of office or appointment.
BARREL, WHAT IS POLITICAL CORRUPTION AND ITS VARIOUS FORMS?
2. PORK, one simple definition of POLITICAL CORRUPTION is the misuse of public power
3. by an elected politician
4. or by an appointed civil servant
5. for personal
6. or family
7. or cronie/friend or group
8. monetary gain
9. or election campaign financing
10. or other advantage.
11. As a general rule, a CORRUPT politician or civil servant misuses his or her public power for money or privilege or advantage.
12. POLITICAL CORRUPTION IS THE ILLEGAL MISUSE OF ENTRUSTED POWER BY
13. heritage,
14. education,
15. marriage,
16. election,
17. appointment,
18. position,
19. or wealth,
20. for personal or family or friend or group gain of some sort.
21. POLITICAL CORRUPTION in a legal context refers to a wrongful design
22. to acquire or cause
23. some pecuniary or other advantage
24. at the expense of
25. “one’s oath of office,”
26. “fairness to one’s competitors”
27. or the public good.
28. POLITICAL CORRUPTION more often than not includes a quid pro quo, which is to say a favor or advantage granted or expected in return for something.
29. POLITICAL CORRUPTION encompasses a variety of wrongful acts, such as, among others, which is to say not limited to:
30. bribes,
31. kickbacks,
32. jury tampering,
33. gaining campaign financing
34. gaining funding for one’s controlled charity or foundation or business,
35. gaining funding for a family member’s or cronies’ business activities.
36. POLITICAL CORRUPTION IS abuse of public office for some sort of personal advantage.
37. Some highly publicized POLITICAL CORRUPTION involves public officials and law enforcement officers.
38. A 1998 report by the General Accounting Office states, “The most commonly identified pattern of drug-related police corruption involved small groups of officers who protected and assisted each other in criminal activities, rather than the traditional patterns of non-drug-related police corruption that involved just a few isolated individuals or systemic corruption pervading an entire police department or precinct.”
39. Being CORRUPT is obviously bad for the soul.
40. Being CORRUPT also harms the economy and thus the community.
41. In countries with a lot of POLITICAL CORRUPTION, less of their GDP goes into INVESTMENT and they have lower GROWTH rates.
42. POLITICALLY CORRUPT countries invest less in education, a sector of the economy that pays big economic dividends.
43. POLITICALLY CORRUPT countries require bribes, as opposed to being “clean no bribe countries,” and such POLITICAL CORRUPTION reduces capital.
44. POLITICALLY CORRUPT countries attract less FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT.
45. There is no such thing as good POLITICAL CORRUPTION. All POLITICAL CORRUPTION is bad.
46. Some economists point to similarities between bribery and paying taxes or buying a license to operate but this ethical lapse and abuse is not just short sighted, it is patently wrong.
47. The absence of POLITICAL CORRUPTION has huge economic benefits because such permits the development of institutions that enable a market economy to function efficiently.
48. Countries that outlaw graft in the conduct of public affairs grow by the emergence of institutions such as an independent judiciary, a free press, a well-paid civil service and, an economy in which FIRMS compete for customers and CAPITAL.
49. https://www.economist.com/economics-a-to-z/z
52. POLITICAL CORRUPTION IS “… an act done with intent to give some advantage inconsistent with official duty and the rights of others.
53. It includes bribery but is more comprehensive because an act may be corruptly done, though the advantage to be derived from it may be offered to or by another.”
54. In her 2011 article on corruption published in the Canadian law journal, The Advocate, Karen Katz writes;
55. “[POLITICAL CORRUPTION] is understood to be the exploitation of a position of trust, typically in the public sector, in order to receive a private gain, which may or may not be financial.
56. “[POLITICAL CORRUPTION] is not a simple issue of right and wrong, and conditions that encourage public officials to seek out or accept corruption include
57. the expected gains from undertaking a corrupt act exceed the expected costs and
58. little weight is placed on the costs [and harm] that corruption imposes on others.
59. “[Again,] (t)he most common form of [POLITICAL CORRUPTION] is bribery….”
60. In their 2000 article, Huther and Shahl suggest:
61. “… three broad varieties of [POLITICAL CORRUPTION] …
62. bureaucratic or petty [POLITICAL CORRUPTION] – vast number of public officials (bureaucrats and politicians) abusing public office often extracting small bribes or favors;
63. grand [POLITICAL CORRUPTION] – theft or [taking] or misuse of vast amount of [domestic or foreign] public funds by a relatively small number of officials; and
64. state capture or regulatory capture – collusion among public and private agents for private benefit….
65. “[POLITICAL CORRUPTION] [usually] only take(s) place when officials expect to derive net positive benefit from the transaction.”
66. In Nixon v Shrink Missouri Gove, Justice Souter of the United States Supreme Court used these words:
67. “[POLITICAL CORRUPTION] is a subversion of the political process.
68. “Elected officials are influenced to act contrary to their obligations of office by
69. “the prospect of financial gain to themselves
70. “or infusions of money into their campaigns.”
71. REFERENCES:
72. Jeff Huther, Jeff and Shahl, Anwar, Anti-corruption Policies and Programs: A Framework for Evaluation, The World Bank, Operations Evaluation Department, Country Evaluation and Regional Relations Division, December 2000 (Policy Research Working Paper)
73. Katz, Karen, Here Comes the Bribe: Canada’s efforts to Combat Corruption in International Business, 69 Adv. 501 (2011). In her article, Ms Katz relies on Huther and Shahl op. cit.
74. Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government, 528 US 377 (2000)
75. Shumaker, Walter and Longsdorf, George Foster, The Cyclopedic Dictionary of Law Comprising the Terms and Phrases of American Jurisprudence, Including Ancient and Modern Common Law, International Law, and Numerous Select Titles From the Civil Law, the French and the Spanish Law, Etc., Etc. With an Exhaustive Collection of Legal Maxims, (St. Paul, Minnesota: Keefe-Davidson Law Book Company, 1901), page 210.
76. http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/C/Corruption.aspx
77. POLITICAL CORRUPTION is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain [of some sort, be it money or things or power or other benefits]. Forms of corruption vary, but include
bribery,
extortion,
cronyism,
nepotism,
parochialism,
patronage,
influence peddling,
graft,
and embezzlement.
79. The American Anti–Corruption Act (AACA), sometimes shortened to Anti–Corruption Act, is model legislation designed to limit the influence of money in American politics by overhauling lobbying, transparency, and campaign finance laws.
80. THE MAIN CAUSES OF POLITICAL CORRUPTION? INDIVIDUAL OR FAMILY OR FRIENDS OR GROUP UNLAWFUL, IMMORAL, UNETHICAL GREED FOR MONEY OR THINGS OR POWER OR OTHER PERSONAL BENEFITS.
82. There is a fourth form of POLITICAL CORRUPTION which is misuse of one’s office to aggrandize oneself or one’s party by bearing false witness about one’s opponent.
83. There is a fifth form of POLITICAL CORRUPTION which is to take office with its benefits by election or appointment and then fail to use one’s influence and vote to help the electorate be free, safe, and prosperous.