US Government Corruption

Why the United States has a corrupt government.
or
Is corruption that is legal an acceptable government?

Louis L. Brossard 6 December 2009

In a democracy the idea is that the people own their government. The various legislative functionaries of the government are answerable to the citizens who give them the job of representing their choices and wishes. By that definition the United States is certainly not a democracy. The legislators and president are beholden to and directed by the organizations that have bought them. Each legislator has 25 lobbyists on average. Each of those lobbyists has a room full of support people.

Most citizens believe that it is the large corporations that spend the greatest monetary contribution to influence the government. The largest contributor to the last election campaign was not the oil companies or the drug companies, it was the teacher’s union, the NEA (National Education Association). Each legislator spends by far the majority of his or her time soliciting contributions from these large contributors so they can stay in office. They should instead be advocating for the wellbeing of their constituents.

The percentage of legislators who retained their seats is over 90. This is because they have done the bidding of and received contributions from the major organizations that have paid to have the laws made to benefit themselves. With such an enormous source of funds they can out spend any challenger. And the organizations can continue to make even larger profits and pay their executives obscene salaries and bonuses. That may be good business but it is very bad government.

“Congressional stagnation is an American political theory that attempts to explain the high rate of incumbency re-election to the United States House of Representatives. In recent years this rate has been well over 90 per cent, with rarely more than 5-10 incumbents losing their House seats every election cycle. [1] The theory has existed since the 1970s, when political commentators were beginning to notice the trend, [2] with political science author and professor David Mayhew first writing about the "vanishing marginals" theory in 1974. [3]
The term "congressional stagnation" originates from the theory that Congress has become stagnant through the continuous re-election of the majority of incumbents, preserving the status quo.”
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_stagnation_in_the_United_States

The extent of our legal corruption is easy to find. Here are a few quotes:
“The Center calculates that interest groups spent $17.4 million on lobbying for every day Congress was in session in 2008, or $32,523 per legislator per day. Center director Sheila Krumholz says, “The federal government is handing out billions of dollars by the day, and that translates into job security for lobbyists who can help companies and industries get a piece of the payout”.”
Source: http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/6-lobbyists-buy-congress/

“In 2005, lobbyists in the United States spent $2.3 billion-up from $1.5 billion just five years earlier-on behalf of their clients. But what exactly are clients buying? Abramoff was able to charge millions in fees for his lobbying because he had the kind of relationship with certain members of the Republican leadership that few others did. As "Capitol Crimes" showed, special interest groups were willing to pay big money for that kind of access which in turn produced results. A direct pipeline to power means a much better chance that when push comes to shove, the chips will fall in your favor.
And for that same reason-because of their intricate knowledge of the system and their important ties to the players-a sizeable percentage of congressmen and staffers who have left the Hill since 1998 have joined lobbying firms. Indeed, a lobbyist is only as powerful as the number of close relationships he or she has with those who hold the reins. And beyond that, many former lawmakers have found that they can double or triple their congressional salaries in their new profession; it's no wonder then that the number of registered full-time lobbyists doubled between 2000 and 2005, to nearly 35,000.”
Source: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/moyersonamerica/capitol/lobby.html

There is no mystery why Europe and other advanced countries have better health care for their citizens; why they are so far ahead of the United States in environmental concerns and have better programs addressing climate change; or why they care for their underclass is more comprehensive and universal than ours. Their citizens more directly influence their representatives.

I am not saying that everything European is better than what we have here in the US. Far from it. I’m only saying that the United States Government could and whichshould live up to the principles we all learned in grade school and are enshrined in our Constitution.