Corruption

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

"Politics will always and forever be vulnerable to corruption," according to this author. As soon as a person gains political office, he or she will be the target of pressure and temptation . . because the power of that office includes the power to grant favors.

Apparently, Odebrecht Construction (see yesterday's post) was able to buy favors from a very long list of politicians in Brazil. They even have a department to distribute the payoffs. 

But Brazil's government is not uniquely vulnerable to corruption. Here in America the new administration hopes to "drain the swamp." 

"Politics is prone to corruption, no matter how detailed the legislation, no matter how noble the public official. If you want politics to be less corrupt, the solution isn’t to shrink corruption. The solution is to shrink the state."

People who work for government are just people. They don't have any more natural integrity than anyone else. The solution to problems is not to give the government more power.