Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Make legal corruption illegal

From the NY Post:

Shelly Silver and Dean Skelos broke the law, but when it comes to politicians, New York’s got a far bigger problem: corruption that’s perfectly legal.

“I seen my opportunities, and I took ’em.” Tammany boss George Washington Plunkitt used that famous, comically frank excuse to explain the “honest graft” that made him rich. Indeed, he took pride in his corruption, because he distinguished it from “dishonest graft.”

In 1870, Plunkitt held four offices — assemblyman, alderman, police magistrate and county supervisor — and pulled down three salaries. His “honest graft,” was based on his ability to “see an opportunity” — say, buying up land where, unknown to the public, a park would later be built, then selling it at a handsome profit.

Silver and Skelos committed flat-out crimes. But what about the “honest graft,” the kind of corruption that takes a toll on millions who don’t even realize it — all while breaking no laws? It’s as fetid as the “dishonest” kind. New York’s pols trade legislative favors, steer contracts, set wages and grant tax breaks.

But democracy itself encourages quid pro quo deals — many that are perfectly legal, and others that may not be, but that are hard to prove otherwise. Prosecutors are lucky indeed to find evidence as clear-cut as in the Skelos and Silver cases.

A candidate, for instance, might promise pay hikes for public workers or tax breaks for select groups, knowing he’ll get their political support. That’s totally legal. A businessman might buy ads hawking a candidate who vows to build roads. That’s OK, too, even if the roads provide a particular benefit to the man’s trucking business.

It boils down to this: Power corrupts, as the saying goes. So limit an official’s power, and you can probably limit a good deal of corruption.

There’s more: Steps to end the lifetime tenures of incumbents would help. And, of course, an engaged electorate is crucial.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Years ago, Ronald Lauder spend $100 million to put on the NYC ballot a referendum for term limits for City pols, along with public financing, which New Yorkers approved. Who will be the next public-minded rich person to sponsor a similar referendum for term limits for Albany pols?

Anonymous said...

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end.

Liberty is the prevention of control by others.

History provides neither compensation for suffering nor penalties for wrong.

-John Dalberg-Acton-

Anonymous said...

Start with Toby Stavisky.
The Stavisky dynasty has been in the political business since the 1960s.
When you warm a seat for that long, there is bound to be corruption!

Anonymous said...

Yes term limits for every politician !
Sorry but you can't trust the voters anymore most are disenfranchised.

Anonymous said...

"An engaged electorate" An idea whose time has come.

Anonymous said...

I think that no elected official should ever be allowed to vote on anything related to their office, such as whether term limits wouldn't apply to the existing lawmakers, or on the recent business regarding pay raises. Those should be voted on within a general election. We decide. Not a commission, nor the pols themselves. I think many pols lose sight that holding office is public service, not a career path. It should be likened to military service for our country.

Anonymous said...

> I think many pols lose sight that holding office is public service, not a career path.

Meanwhile, some good government advocates think that State Assembly and Senate seats should be changed from part time to full time jobs to lower the urge for corruption.

Camel bladder said...

Term limits for every single political office and a prohibition for working as a lobbyist for at least 10 years after leaving office. That along with banning pac money to all politicians and limiting donations from individuals only and with a $250 maximum. Doing these things is the best way to ensure that the people that serve do so in the model invisioned by our founding fathers. The farmer or the blacksmith or the local doctor would serve a term or two and then go back to his or her career.

Anonymous said...

full time jobs to lower the urge for corruption

It's not to lower the urge, but to tighten the regulations. Once a position is marked as full time, they lose the defense during ethics inquiries that potentially conflict of interest consulting on the side is necessary to maintain a living wage. The public is definitely getting a good deal to pay them a little more for this concession - it was an integral part of how Tom Galante got canned.

Anonymous said...

The public is definitely getting a good deal to pay them a little more for this concession - it was an integral part of how Tom Galante got canned.

But the Queens Library is a private, non-profit corporation (despite the fact that all of its vehicles have official NYC plates) that gets most of its funding from NYC, so Galante didn't have to file disclosure forms because he was not a public official.

Maybe moving the NYS capital from Albany to NYC would help, too, since the lack of oversight "up in the sticks" contributes to the feeling among politicians that they can do whatever they want. At least they'd be watched more closely in Manhattan.

And I like the suggestion that politicians cannot vote on matters that they would themselves benefit from - for example, if they vote for pay raises, it should only take effect when their successors take office.

Cav said...

Instead of term limits here's a really radical idea and the only one that will work: How about the voters pull their heads out of their asses and vote, them out of office after 2 terms. All by themselves. Voluntarily, like responsible grown-ups.

Oh, but I know- all politicians are crooked shitlords except for my [fill in the blank elected], he's/she's/it's a great guy/gal/creature. And since everyone seems to have this view, they all get re-elected time after time with healthy margins. Then we whine about the problem, project out our failures onto the bad guys du jour, other idiot voters in other areas voting in assholes, no one else to vote for, etc and demand the government we allow to run amok fix itself. Yeah. As if....

Even better, After Bloomberg and Quinn overthrew the two term limits, after public approval in two referendums, did voters punish the pols who were behind this? No, they were voted right back into office. So will a new term limits law work? No.

So another law to protect people from their own stupidity is just as inane of an idea as demanding new government programs to fix the problems created by previous government programs. It never worked before for obvious reasons and it will not work in the future for the same reasons.

Time to spit out the blue pill and think out of the box, folks.

Don Cavaioli

Anonymous said...

Don wishful thinking ! I agree with you but people are misinformed and hold the party line.
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Everything they've ever "known" has been proven to be wrong. A thousand years ago everybody knew as a fact, that the earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew that the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on it. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow." MIB

Anonymous said...

Guess who is the worst ethics violator for 2015?

http://www.factdc.org/#!FACT-RELEASES-ITS-LIST-OF-WORST-ETHICS-VIOLATORS-OF-2015/c24/567846da0cf203da56e7450b

Yep, she is running for office.

Stupid media is shocked why Trump has the votes while his style is really abrasive.
Speaks the truth assholes, that's why. People relate to the truth.

Anonymous said...

"Instead of term limits here's a really radical idea and the only one that will work: How about the voters pull their heads out of their asses and vote, them out of office after 2 terms. All by themselves. Voluntarily, like responsible grown-ups."

Great idea but nearly impossible now - due to one party control in every county in the state. So they only way to clean house is through term limits. Yes - the voters are that detached.

Anonymous said...

Galante didn't have to file disclosure forms because he was not a public official.

Yes, he didn't have to file disclosure, but you're missing the point: he had a responsibility for a full work week presence at the library which made it difficult for him to justify the plausibility that he was actually there doing it when he was filing an extra 22 hours a week for the Elmont school district. This helped build the case against him once the whistle was blown.