Profiles in Corruption

Modern-day politicians (and by “modern-day” I have pretty much anyone elected after 1900 in mind) are famous for being spineless rags that twist whatever way the wind and for being willing to adopt pretty much any position for the right sum of money (usually a lot lower than one would think it should be).  One of my favorite examples of this is Louisiana’s former U.S. representative, William Jefferson, who took a ton of bribes and was caught when federal investigators found $90,000 wrapped up in aluminum foil in his freezer.  Both of America’s major political parties are susceptible to this major fault.  In books and movies, corruption has a little bit of a glamorous or adventurous feel to it, often tied to the mob or opulent, fast-lane living.  The truth certainly includes some of that, but is mostly full of boring paperwork that lawyers and accountants deal with in an attempt to cover the trail between politicians and the dirty money they use to enrich themselves, their friends, and their families.

Profiles in Corruption: Abuse of Power by America’s Progressive Elite by Peter Schweizer (ISBN: 978-0-06-289790-9) examines the corruption of some of the American Left’s biggest stars: Vice President Kamala Harris, Senator Bernie Sanders, President Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, Eric Garcetti, and Senator Elizabeth Warren.  Schweizer could’ve written a book like this about Republicans, too, but chose not to since Leftists claim they fight against big business and cronyism and are believed by a significant swath of the public.  With that hypocrisy as a background, the corruption seems even worse as it’s not just corruption, but also a lot of lying.  All of them are long-term public officer holders that have been involved in hardly any business activities, yet have wielded the power that comes with their offices to enrich themselves, their friends, and their families.  Schweizer chronicles these politicians’ activities throughout their careers, which includes their time in local and state office as well as on the national stage.  As they move up the ladder, their influence grows, and the amount of money they’re able to command in exchange for various favors grows in a corresponding manner.  One of the most popular schemes was earmarking federal funding for ones’ friends and families via authority over grants and programs (all of them) or writing laws that benefit a friend’s law firm (Harris, Klobuchar) or a brother’s real estate development project (Biden).  The book is full of stories of politicians claiming to be tough on crime, for example, but then not prosecuting their political allies.  There are stories of politicians writing laws that make it possible for family and friends to develop property formerly off limits.  In every case, the politician in question also comes out ahead.  Schweizer ends by claiming that there is a certain level of responsibility for the corruption with the American voter because these politicians keep being re-elected.

The book is a quick read and quite interesting.  It’s also depressing on a certain level because these are only a few of the examples of corruption.  Like Schweizer claims, everyone knows it’s a bipartisan problem, too.  I thought the fact that there were so many examples made the book’s case stronger.  These examples of corruption were not some one-off thing.  These are embedded habits.  While I tend to generally agree with Schweizer’s conclusion that we get what we vote for, one thing that depressed me throughout the book was simply the amount of public money available.  A lot of this corruption would not be possible if there was not so much public money available.  There are so many things the government has no business being involved in.  If it was smaller, the way it should be, there would be a lot fewer opportunities for politicians to be bought.  In that way, I disagree with Schweizer’s conclusion.  Reduce the size of government and this problem takes care of itself to a certain degree.

 

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