The Issue Of Political Corruption

“Corruption, improper and usually unlawful conduct intended to secure a benefit for oneself or another its forms include bribery, extortion, and the misuse of inside information. It exists where there is community indifference or a lack of enforcement policies.”(Encyclopedia Britannica). Today political Corruption in all forms exists in every country in the world. In some countries it is more prominent then in others, but no matter where you go it still occurs. Recently in mid 2013 some political corruption was brought to light in New York. “Since 2007, state senators have been more likely to be arrested then to lose their seats in a general election,” (New York Public Interest Research group). In April of 2013 New York State

Political corruption is a major problem in the US today. It involves almost all levels of government and affects people from all walks of life. Public office is a noble post and citizens put their trust in government officials to carry out their constitutional duties for the benefit of the citizenry. The problem comes in where both elected and unelected officials perform their duties with the goal of personal gain in full view of the law. The ethical and moral wrongs of corruption are unjustifiable in any context.

Tulia, a small town in Texas of just under five-thousand people, is a frightening example of how the judicial system is governed solely by racism as well as one corrupt man’s word. In 1999, nearly ten percent of the town’s African American population was arrested in a single drug bust. Of the forty-six people arrested, thirty-eight were African-American, furthermore all were convicted. The remaining seven arrested where know to associate more with the black community than the white in Tulia as well. With the towns income levels averaging at or below the poverty line, most arrested could not afford to hire a good attorney that cared or had the time to care, left therefore with one provided by the state. Consequently, convictions were up to ninety years in jail for allegedly selling three and a half grams, more commonly known as an eight ball, of cocaine in drug-free zones. In was only on appeals, that the convictions where revoked on insubstantial evidence.

The Progress movement or as many refer to as the Progressive era, was a time frame where Americans joined in varying groups to advocate reform across the United States. To elaborate, Progressives believed in widespread change for child labor, industrialization, government, racial reform, and women’s rights. Countless stories of corruption in these areas were brought to light in the Progressive era mostly due to the published writings of Muckrakers. Muckrakers, were journalists who wrote for popular magazines that attempted to expose corrupt political activities from their investigative journalism. Furthermore, I will discuss and compare these groups and their attempts for changes in the rights of child labor, women, acknowledgment of corrupt government practices, racial relations, and industrialization reform.

“All contributions by corporations to any political committee or for any political purpose should be forbidden by law” This quote from Theodore Roosevelt illustrates how corporate money can be disastrous when involved in election cycles. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The Supreme Court decided in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that companies and Super PAC’s could donate unlimited amount of money to support candidates. The Citizens United ruling has caused increased political corruption in the United States by giving candidates the money they need to win an election while changing policies that would be beneficial to the company.

One of the issues I am most passionate about is that of money in American politics. Increasing campaign costs, coupled with a decrease in the number of donors contributing to those campaigns, is a disturbing trend which has caused many to feel the need to question the state of our democracy—myself included. The problem of mainstream political corruption and legalized bribery is one that I was made aware of three years ago, and has since become one of the things keeping me up at night most often.

Someone who is abusing the power that is given to him or her defines corruption, however, the word in its self is more than a simple idea; it is an intricate network. Since people’s views about ethical and moral behavior affect the way corruption is examined, the word has a slightly different meaning to each person. Additionally, misconduct across various societies is viewed differently due to social and cultural borders. The criminal justice system has had many instances where corruption had affected the outcome of a case and has inserted itself into the legal process.

Political machines were one of the main sources of corruption. Political machines were extremely powerful organizations linked to political parties - these machines controlled local government cities. A “political boss” controlled jobs and services by offering bribes in return for political votes. A spoils system rose from this in which political supporters were given jobs and favors for support, however, often times the people given these political jobs were not qualified for them. Moreover, “Big Business” was yet another form of corruption.

I believe the Constitution is too vague. The dilemma lies in the details or lack of details. If the objective is free speech, it is much easier to just simply say free speech then to try and express every single instance where free speech is and is not allowed. While vagueness does allow for flexibility, it also allows some corruption, but corruption only comes from those who abuse the system. One example of corruption is in December 2005, the American Civil Liberties Union reported what they believed was one of the worst abuses of the Constitution since 9/11, the National Security Agency tapped into telephone calls of American citizens without a warrant, which violates the Fourth Amendment.

Is there corruption in your government? I am going to argue that the United States government is corrupt.

Political corruption in the United States is present an at least one of the three branches of government in all fifty states but is most common in the Legislative branch. Ending political corruption is nearly impossible because public officials will always find a loophole in the existing laws but reducing corruption is possible. The most efficient way to dramatically reducing political corruption is by targeting the Legislative branch of the United States government. Two members of Congress are trying to exactly do that by proposing a law, At the federal level, that would impose term limits on members of Congress. Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Ron DeSantis are both pushing an amendment to be added to the United States Constitution which would impose term limits on members of the House of Representative and the Senate. Political corruption in the legislative branch of the federal government is a problem because members of Congress will favor special interest rather than their constituent. A law that was passed at the federal level to try solving this problem is the “Honest Leadership and Open Government Act” and a proposed law at the state level Ohio "Strengthening Term Limits on State Legislators" Amendment but both laws don't go far enough. By Imposing term limits on Congress it will help reduce political corruption because it will constantly bring new faces to Congress which will make it harder for special interest to have a “grip” on Congress. Congressional term

Suzanne Goldenburg, in her writing explained to us that there a lot of conflicts in the political party. TO be more specific, a Democrat governor versus Republican governor, described to us the life of George Ryan, who after of being decorated now was convicted of a lot of crimes that he had done in his past. Hence, where were those men in one way or another that are charge in different types of crimes. The author wants us to know that corruption exists in all social levels, like Blagojevich, George Ryan, John Harris and all the politicians that are in power around the world. We see how they take advantage of others that are less fortune in life, that the only ways to build their imperialism is by robbing the hospital and highway toll system

I feel that people are biased when giving an answer to this question. Because of their political party affiliation someone might be inclined to say that the economy is simply bad because the president is affiliated with a party which is not their own. For example a democrat might say that the economy is bad because we have a republican president, but in reality this may not be the case. For this reason I like using tangible evidence when forming my own opinion. Currently I feel that the economy is stable. By referring to local business in my area I’ve noticed an increase in new stores and commercial areas being built. To me this means more jobs and a better economy for the immediate community. However I have noticed an increase in Cyclical

The unlawful use of a person’s position while in power leads to multiple problems with today’s government. The corrupt methods politicians use are ideas that are strictly in place for personal gain. Present throughout history and still prevalent within today’s world, government corruption has consisted of a number of negative issues including bribery, economic and social impacts, and the misuse of power. Government’s role within daily life has been shown to have negative effects as seen in many aspects of life as well as in literature.

Political corruption is parasitic; it finds a host, and can almost always find a way to survive. Eventually, people grow dependent on this corruption as a means for income, thus forming a symbiosis between the people who benefit from it, and the elites that regulate it. People sometimes ignore the corruption surrounding them, feeling that as long as the politicians do their jobs well, their ‘extra salary’ can’t hurt (BNS).