Grievance 47 - Corruption

The U.S. Constitution created a political system readily corruptible.
The "representative form" of government invited crimes of corruption,
and many people were convicted both inside and outside government from
the time of its founding.

At any given moment, some kind of corruption of governing power was
reported at the federal, state or local level, giving rise to widespread
acquiesence and the attitude "it's just the way things are". A poll by
Time Magazine in 1992 showed that four out of five Americans believed
the government was corrupt.

Every level of elective office and many government agencies, were
constant targets of corrupting forces for special favors, while some
powerholders created their own corruption by offering favors in return
for money, gifts, and other benefits. A single investigation of
corruption surrounding the California Legislature resulted in
convictions of 13 people.

But there was another form of corruption built into the representative
form of government, as George Mason University economics Professor
Walter Williams noted;

"If Archer Daniels Midland's CEO
used goons and violence against
competitors, he'd risk a jail sentence.
He accomplishes the same outcome
by paying congressmen to pass re-
strictive laws... (and) the bottom line
enforcement mechanism is the same;
intimidation, threats and coercion."

The power of a relatively small number of "represenatives" to interfere
with the naturally free and peaceful interaction of millions of
Americans was a jealously guarded power by politicians and the people
who used them. Business, labor, and professional people pumped money
into political candidates and parties who most likely would favor their
own money interests. Election costs increased steadily and campaign
contrbutions often had the effect of legalized bribery.

In 1994, U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd, a Democrat seeking re-election,
received almost $1 million from banking, finance, real estate and
insurance money interests, while Senator Alfonse D'Amato, a Republican,
topped the figure by $143,000 from the same group of influence buyers.
Both were members of the powerful Senate Banking Committee which, like
all other legislative committees, could enact laws to favor money
interests.

Seven months before the 1998 elections, U.S. Senate candidates had
already raised $140.3 million in campaign contributions. One
Representative raised $11 million trying to unseat an incumbent Senator.
Several Senators were themselves millionaires and had the advantage over
political opponents of being in the public eye, and outsider millionaires became
more frequent in campaigning for the insider seats of power. Nobody became
a viable candidate for a moderate-to-major office without an amount of money
well beyond the average persons holdings.

Ways to attempt to overcome the money influence in politics, such as
requiring taxpayers to finance candidates, were discussed, but only
diverted the public mind from dealing with the far more critical and
fundamental issue of where the "power" of government should reside;
among an elected few, or among all equally.

With an AUTHENTIC CONSTITUTION in harmony with the natural
Cosmic Laws of the universe, and producing High Moral Values and
Democratic Ideals, corrupting influence of the system is negligible with
each person qualified to vote on all government principles, policies and
programs.

Back