This column presents a non-partisan, conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions. Now, on to the subject of the week:
Our World Is Unfortunately Comprised Of Many Bad People, and Even More Unfortunately, Many Of Them Hold Elected Offices or Bureaucratic Positions.
That isn’t to say that all politicians and bureaucrats are bad, most of them are honest, hard working individuals doing their best to do a good job. But the old statement "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely", has a strong sound of truth in it. Many of those in public office start out with honest, sincere intent to improve the system of government and to serve their constituents…and the taste of power finally taints their vision.
This malady is true for the lowest "crat" inspecting some work site for code compliance to a law enforcement officer serving as a traffic cop, to the lofty position of President of the United States of America. None are immune.
When a public official commits an ethical crime through abuse of their position, it is much more visible and much more publicized because of the fact that the public trust has been violated. We thus tend to focus more on the bad and to take the good for granted. That is why congress has such a low approval rating in polls.
The Strings Attached To Our Votes:
When the public elects someone to a public position, the votes cast for that person are an expression of the public’s faith in that individual. To accept those votes and to step into that elected job is an acceptance of a special public responsibility. The oath of office for that position should not be given casually. The elected official is to become the custodian of public funds, they are expected to represent the needs and work to the benefit of their supporters, they are expected to set the example of work ethics with high standards of performance.
They should always perform with a high degree of ethical behavior. Whenever any taint of bias or favoritism is present in a situation, they should refrain from involvement in the final vote or decision. Efficiency, frugality, honesty, and ethical behavior are essential components of a public position. They should only hire and/or appoint those that are best qualified for the job…never for political favors or campaign donations.
The funds donated by lobbyist are the source of much of the ethical failure of our public officials. The funds donated by utilities get our bureaucracy to allow profitable rate increases. The funds donated by insurance companies creates allowance of higher premium charges and reduced benefits. The funds donated by banks creates allowance of usurious interest rates and bank fees. The funds donated by environmental groups allows foolish policies to be enacted. The funds donated by Unions allows favors for particular groups of employees, or allows abusive practices such as is demonstrated by activities in the New York trash collection business or at our nations ports by the dock workers.
The funds donated by law organizations facilitate laws that create a "sue me" lifestyle where class action suits make millions for legal firms.
All of these negative elements of our society exist because of political corruption.
Business Corruption Vs. Government Corruption:
Corruption in business is not the same as corruption in government. In business, if you misuse money it is either money you have earned as a business owner, or at worse it is money you wasted that negatively impacted your fellow employees. Business ethics are violated, and a small number of people are impacted, but nothing to match the damage that occurs when someone in government performs a similar misdeed.
Positions of power in the business world are usually gained through hard work and good job performance; in government positions of power are gained through making public promises and pledges for votes. In business, the money spent is money the company generated through sale of goods or services. In government, the money spent is money forced from the bank accounts of citizens and their families by government laws and rules in order for the system to deliver needed public services. This money is money that in many instances is keeping families from going on memorable vacations, driving a better vehicle, and in some cases perhaps is money needed for special medical care that is rendered unavailable because of forced payments to government. Any misuse or waste of these types for funds is a serious failure.
Additionally, as role models for us all, creators of the laws, enforcers of the laws, there is appropriately also a higher moral standard for those in public positions. That is why instances of moral failure such as demonstrated by President Nixon, President Clinton, Senator Ted Kennedy, and the current star Governor Spitzer of New York, are so representative of moral failure of government officials.
This trust is why when a Senator has his freezer full of money taken from businessmen for special favors, and the transaction is filmed with undercover cameras is so unsettling to us all. It is corruption at its worse.
Personal Experiences of Failures:
As I have lived and worked a varied career over my lifetime I have personally experienced many instances of government corruption. I am sure most of you have similar experiences.
♦ I was working with a client in Hialeah who was moving his factory into a larger building. We were setting up the new facility and were on a tight production start up schedule. We began to have many small code requirements added that held up granting of a certificate of occupancy. Finally, the owner gave the code guy $10,000 and the next day we got the C.O..
♦ I know of one local couple that was involved in a small commercial project and one of the local "code-a-crats" told the attractive wife of the owner that if she would perform "favors" the project would have no problems with code requirements.
♦ The trucking industry and it’s Teamster Union forces many companies to pay into the union coffers in order to get their goods picked up and delivered on schedule. Complaints to public officials always fall on deaf ears.
As one moves up the scale to national positions, the stakes become much larger. I have often wondered about that period during Clinton’s term when those Chinese politicians and businessmen were being dined and lodged at the White House while politicians were promoting "most favored nation trade status" for China. The measure passed and was enacted and today China is capturing a major part of the U.S. market with its manufactured goods. I wonder how many Swiss bank accounts were filled for our politicians during these negotiations.
The Closed Environment Factor:
When people with power are placed in a closed, sheltered environment, it is common for them to lose touch with reality and feel a sense of superiority and immunity. This is true to some extent with the attitude of many doctors in the closed environment created by the hospital. Professors and officials of colleges become similarly "Godlike" within the campus confines. Unfortunately, this same condition develops for top bureaucrats, Senators, Congressmen, Governors, and Presidents within the government complexes at state capitols and in Washington D.C.
Over time they build up such an organization of support from those getting special favors, government contracts, favorable legislation, and "insider information" that it is large enough and powerful enough to gain them repeated reelection. It becomes a position held through graft and corruption.
Pure of Thought and Deed:
When a person is placed inside this system of corruption it is difficult for them to remain pure of thought and deed. It demands strength of character.
In my opinion, all public officials should constantly be on guard to never allow their purity to be violated by the "system" around them. They should never vote for some legislation that gives the bureaucracy or elected officials special favors or privileges at the expense of the public. They should never allow any person or organization to have any special privileges or gains.
Contracts should always be awarded to the firm with the lowest bid with acceptable service. Nepotism and "good ole boy" hiring and appointments should never be considered. Jobs should only go to those best qualified, regardless of political contacts, family, race, or creed. Tax money should never be taken and spent just because it is available. It should only be used when necessary. If a school or college doesn’t really need a new road, building, or program, the school officials should not take the grants and continue just because some lobbyist was able to create the opportunity.
Public officials should never look the other direction, make special deals in smoke filled back rooms, or play the "I’ll scratch your back if you will scratch mine" political game. Programs that are failing should be immediately corrected or eliminated. Programs created in order to appease, please and entice special interest groups should be eliminated. Money should only be spent when absolutely necessary. Unnecessary, abusive, intrusive, and special interest legislation should be repealed. Any time a public official allows a wrong to exist or to take place without involved resistance, they are violating the public trust that got them there.
Qualifications For Public Positions:
My wife often states that she feels for every public position there should be a set of minimum qualifications. She promotes using a series of tests with minimum allowable scores set for each. These would include intelligence, personality, psychological, morality, common sense and reasoning.
Personally, I have come to the opinion than the most important factor that a public official must have in order to gain my support and vote is not experience, not educational achievements, not political contacts,…..the most important personal attribute is….ETHICS!
RUDAMENTS- ODDS AND ENDS WORTH MENTION:
♦ I applaud the County Commissioners for placing the proposed construction project for a new county administration building on "hold" until next January. However, I feel they are falling short of doing what really needs to be done.
In my opinion they should engage a qualified firm to evaluate the suitability and costs of preparation for consideration of the old Wal-Mart building and also the "Food World" building for use by the county. If the cost is a reasonable figure, they should immediately proceed with purchase and the next three years as leases of existing leased space expire, begin to phase county functions into the new purchased facility. I thank those citizens who have become involved in this matter by expressing their opinions to their Commissioner. I encourage you to try to get them to not merely drop the matter and continue to operate in a costly, fragmented format. They now need to continue and complete the job.
♦ Will the Kelson Street project in Marianna never end? I encourage everyone to drink a lot of water and to flush often, after all water fees are paying for this street work.
♦ The political races are heating up. I encourage everyone to go to the forums, to talk to the candidates, to determine which ones will hold the line on growth and budget increases, and finally to vote wisely.
Do these things and you will be "Getting It Right".
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