corruption

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A Deep Look at Corruption Culture


by Stephen Crockett
http://www.opednews.com
A Deep Look at Corruption CultureRecent events have shown that a corruption culture has taken hold of the dominant corporate business community and their allies in American politics. The corruption culture threatens both our economic way of life and American Democracy.The criminal charges filed against Republican House Majority Leader Tom Delay, the insider stock trading investigation of Senate Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist, the huge increases in energy prices as a result of deliberate market manipulation of supply by oil refineries and the White House aides (Karl Rove and Cheney’s Chief of Staff Libby) role in outing a CIA agent for partisan political reasons have it clear that corruption by the powerful is out of control. The intentionally created California electric energy crisis of Bush’s first term, the MCI-Worldcom frauds, the Enron frauds, the charges against Ohio Governor Taft, the criminal trial of former Illinois Governor Ryan, the voter intimidation tactics used by the Republican Party in Ohio and elsewhere are all strong evidence that America is facing a breakdown in business ethics and political commitment to American Democracy.America’s crisis has two related parts. We have a runaway greed problem in Corporate business circles that has spilled over into American politics and government. The growing financial power of corrupt corporations has helped the most ruthless politicians obtain political power and virtual control of American government at most levels. The power lust in political circles is as strong as the money lust in Corporate business circles. The two have merged in the Bush Republican political machine.There is growing evidence that traditional checks and balances in government designed by our Founding Fathers and improved by earlier generations of American political leaders are no longer respected by our current leaders. These checks and balances are no longer working effectively as a result.Our Corporate business leaders are following a business ethics approach of charging “all the market will bear” prices. The concept of a “reasonable rate of return” on investment has been largely abandoned in less than a generation. The difference in the two approaches to business is critically important and relate to the corrupting influence of corporations in American politics.............