153
votes
Accepted
Why is it a bad idea to hire a hitman to eliminate most corrupt politicians?
Basically because your idea (assassination of corrupt politician) undermines rather than reinforces the rule of law. Usually the definition of corruption includes some kind of illegal activity. ...
- 145k
48
votes
Why is it a bad idea to hire a hitman to eliminate most corrupt politicians?
Interestingly, avoiding this is one of the reasons that the United States Constitution provides means for legal impeachment of the president.
Dr. Franklin was for retaining the clause [on impeachment]...
- 25.9k
45
votes
Are there examples of grassroots-level corruption in the history of socialism/communism?
I don't know how to find statistics or studies on the case, but as a native I can give my memories of communist Poland. Grassroot-level corruption was ubiquitous. Introduction of ration stamps in 1976 ...
- 2,601
44
votes
What is a successful policy against lobbying in a democratic country?
Define good lobbying and bad lobbying.
That's a major challenge. You don't want a paid lobbyist for big oil or the arms industry to visit representatives and grease their palms, but you you do want ...
- 106k
37
votes
Accepted
Is the US President prohibited from receiving clothing as a gift? Why or why not?
The US President can receive clothing as a gift. They, along with the Vice President, are pretty much the only federal employees who can accept substantial gifts, even if they come from 'prohibited ...
CDJB♦
- 105k
35
votes
Accepted
Would the hypothetical Exxon call be illegal?
Yes, this would be illegal.
If you're a public official, you can't offer an official act (like permits) in exchange for anything of value (like campaign donations). See 18 U.S. Code § 201. Bribery of ...
- 516
33
votes
Why hadn't the west arrested Russian billionaires for corruption/money laundering prior to the Ukraine war?
There's an old joke about a new priest/rabbi/mayor talking to an old one. "Your congregation does everything you ask them to! What's your secret?" "I never ask them to do anything ...
- 2,007
29
votes
Would the hypothetical Exxon call be illegal?
Trump is, as he often is, speaking in a manner that conveys no clear meaning. Taking his phrasing literally, he is discussing Exxon sending $25m to him personally, for the purpose of him spending it ...
- 7,903
28
votes
Why is it a bad idea to hire a hitman to eliminate most corrupt politicians?
The question is whether the politician is corrupt or the whole society is corrupt. Often most corrupt politicians belong to corrupt societies. Therefore, if you kill a corrupt politician, another one ...
- 741
23
votes
Why do politicians make so much money?
There are primarily two reasons: competitiveness and corruption.
Competitiveness
You did hit the nail on the head - part of the reason is competitiveness. Public offices compete with private jobs ...
- 23.8k
22
votes
Accepted
Questionable COVID-19 procurement outside the UK
I don't think it's unique to the UK. I can think of at least two instances of controversy surrounding Covid-related procurement deals in the Netherlands and Thailand. I'll highlight some of the ...
JJJ♦
- 38.9k
21
votes
Why is it a bad idea to hire a hitman to eliminate most corrupt politicians?
Suppose, as per the premise of the question, that the public is fond of sponsoring assassinations. A clever corrupt politician could use that to his own advantage, and the nation's detriment:
A ...
- 12.8k
21
votes
Accepted
Do the USA and France offer tax havens?
To my knowledge, France does not offer any form of tax haven, as opposed to the US and the UK. However French people who want to hide their assets don't need to travel very far: traditionally ...
- 16.2k
19
votes
Accepted
How can a president stamp out corruption?
I work in a position which is very close to the German public administration system, so I might be able to give some insight into how Germany tries to prevent corruption among its civil servants. It ...
- 74.8k
18
votes
What type of corruption did Trump campaign against?
Trump primarily appealed to his audience by stating what it wanted to hear. He said he'd 'drain the swamp' of all the lobbyists who had hurt the country’s working class. To the best of my knowledge, ...
- 30.5k
18
votes
Accepted
Did Hillary Clinton call Tulsi Gabbard a "Russian asset"?
NBC has the order of events/statements a bit more clearly outlined
In a recent interview, Clinton didn't mention Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii by name, but said she ...
- 145k
18
votes
What is a successful policy against lobbying in a democratic country?
First, a bit of math re. your $100 per person. Assuming 170m (number of registered US voters) x $100, you get $17B out of it. Lotsa money, for sure, except that 2020 POTUS elections cost $14B, so ...
18
votes
Accepted
Are there examples of grassroots-level corruption in the history of socialism/communism?
One form of it is called Blat (Блат)
This is when you have operational control of some communal resource and give people preferential access for a fee, often in a form of barter.
But there was also ...
- 13.9k
17
votes
Accepted
What are “frugality rules”?
The frugality rules referred to in the article are also known as the Eight-point Regulation enacted in 2012. Here is an official summary of the key points. I've emphasized main topics in bold.
...
- 14.8k
17
votes
Questionable COVID-19 procurement outside the UK
In Germany, a number of politicians from the conservative parties CDU and CSU closed shady mask deals, many enriching themselves or their party in the process (Maskenaffäre). Some of the masks had ...
- 36k
16
votes
Is there investigation into foreign influence on the 2016 electoral college?
Zero electors who were supposed to vote for Hillary Clinton voted for Donald Trump instead. So no electors could have been persuaded by Russia (or anyone) to switch to Donald Trump, because that ...
- 89.3k
16
votes
Why is it a bad idea to hire a hitman to eliminate most corrupt politicians?
Apart from whether your approach would be conducive to justice or a better political system or even just any improvement whatsoever — it will not work.
Do you think you are the first one who has the ...
- 9,573
16
votes
What is a successful policy against lobbying in a democratic country?
The short answer is: There aren't any successful policies against lobbying (in general) in a functional representative democracy.
Lobbying is quite literally just people trying to influence their ...
- 8,238
15
votes
Accepted
How does the European Union objectively assess the level of corruption within a certain country?
What a thoughtful and concise question.
The report you are seeking is the 293 page, "MEASURING THE QUALITY OF
GOVERNMENT AND SUBNATIONAL VARIATION".
The report was produced by the research ...
- 3,516
15
votes
Why is it a bad idea to hire a hitman to eliminate most corrupt politicians?
Letting aside the ethics, who gets to decide who is corrupt?
Taking the USA's political state since 2015-2016, i.e. the last POTUS election we have:
a large proportion of US voters who believe ...
14
votes
If India got independence in 1947, how come there were governments by Indians before then?
The British Empire controlled many different territories under different rules, and the rules changed over time as well.
The Indian Councils Act 1861 was an early step towards involving Indians in ...
- 106k
14
votes
Are there examples of grassroots-level corruption in the history of socialism/communism?
Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich reportedly started doing business while serving at the soviet army, by selling officers stolen gasoline. This article in the Pravda has one of his former mates ...
- 149
14
votes
Are there examples of grassroots-level corruption in the history of socialism/communism?
As others noted, examples of grassroots level corruption can be found by literally asking any random person (and there's plenty of us even on SE) who grew up or lived in a socialist country. As random ...
- 91.8k
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