Special interests and ways to reduce corruption

Special interests’ money and how it pays for lucrative play.

“Follow the money”
A Columbia Pictures image

– News covered by Quincy Quarry News with commentary added.

Special interests and ways to reduce corruption.

Via Quarry Quarry’s media colleagues at the internationally known and well-regarded Anti Corruption Digest comes a very instructive primer on how money, the mother’s milk of politicians, is used to buy favors from compliant politicians and how to counter same.   

“Moi?”
A Quincy Quarry News file photo

In particular, how obliging local politicians are often oh so willing to do the bidding of – for example – developers.

Needless to say, key to securing all manner of generous special accommodations which will further line the pockets of these same developers is to first spread around surprisingly short money, all things considered, to prime the pump.

Typically, campaign donations are provided to grease the skids. 

Nothing new here, other than how the donations are now often routed via third parties with at least parallel interests.

Regardless, the transactional is transactional, not to mention thoroughly transparent as to what is being grifted.

Unfortunately, politicians write the rules when it comes to campaign finance law and thus all too often facilitate all manner of tacit cover for pay for play.

The home of accommodating campaign finance laws
Image via Wikipedia

In Massachusetts, however, such is not needed given the variously accommodating state campaign finance laws even if the annual contribution limits are lower than most states .

And for a local example, an out of town real estate company and its peeps have dropped over $100,000 in campaign contributions on the mayor as well as have been able to continue to generously do so at the maximum legal limit even after the company’s two principles were hit with a five figure fine for funding illegal straw campaign donations through an employee. 

A now former ward heeler
A former Facebook avatar image

That and certain among the same group of special interests have further dropped well over $60,000 in not fined contributions upon various current city council members and even a couple of now former council members.

In turn, however surely but coincidentally, this real estate development company ended up seeing around ten million or thereabouts in creative incentives on a local project.

Ending the facilitating cannot be legislated away as – again – legislators are not going to proscribe it.

Rather, the only way to find special interests money is for people to focus their own campaign fund contributions in support of candidates who will refuse to accommodate generous special interests and all too typically at taxpayers’ sufferance.

“As they say around the Texas Legislature, if you can’t drink their whiskey, screw their women, take their money, and vote against ’em anyway, you don’t belong in office.”  Molly Ivins

That and exposé special interests’ largess at every opportunity.

Source: Yazoo, Unions, And An Easy Way To Reduce Corruption

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