Corruption Affects Everyone essay

Corruption Affects Everyone: Corruption Affects Public Safety, Government Functions and Families

Corruption is “the abuse of power for private gain” and is a serious crime. Corruption has become a massive problem that needs to be addressed: Top 10 Bribery and Corruption Stories of 2019. (2020, January 7). reports, “The massive Unaoil scandal continued to make headlines. Four businessmen pleaded guilty in London courts in 2019, admitting that they were involved in paying millions in bribes. According to investigators, the illicit payments were made to officials in nine different countries over a p of 17 years. As part of the scheme, participants were alleged to have engaged in widespread money laundering and attempts to destroy evidence. It is alleged that two of the key players in the scandal made millions of dollars in bribe payments to government officials in Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Libya and Syria. Fallout continues from the massive Unaoil case, which some have said is the largest bribery scandal in history. The family business from Monaco is alleged to have systematically corrupted the global oil industry. Paying our millions of dollars in bribes for big name companies including Samsung, Rolls-Royce and Halliburton.” It is in human nature to take the easy way out and to gain for personal benefit. Biological (nature) and psychological (nurture) factors are a part of corruption. The increase of corruption affects public safety, government functions, and families.

There are many types of corruption such as: Fraud deals with monetary donations and cash transactions, Bribery is when a person offers an incentive to another individual, looking to influence their thoughts or behavior; Extortion is similar to bribery, extortion is receiving something in return such as cash or power by threatening others; Nepotism or Cronyism occurs when employers favor friends or relatives for jobs over applicants who are qualified for positions; Misuse of Official Position is when an official uses his or her position to perform an act of misconduct while in office, such acts are embezzlement, abuse of trust, and fraud; Conflict of Interest is self-dealing or connection to him or herself while in office as high ranking official; Vote Buying occurs during elections when a candidate promise to return a favor, if elected into office. Corruption affects the world\'s political, economic, social, and environmental costs.

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Transparency International Corruption. (2018). reports, \"Politically, corruption is a major problem to democracy. Institutions and governments lose public trust and accountability when a public official is corrupted. Economically, corruption depletes national wealth. Politicians often invest in projects, construction, or communities for which they benefit financially which hinders fair market structures and competition. Socially, corruption can hinder the public\'s trust which undermines government systems and leadership. Corruption can impact a society environmentally by the lack of enforcing environmental regulations and legislation to protect the environment. Many companies globally continue to pay bribes in return for unrestricted damage to the environment.\"

The Federal Bureau of Investigations (2002). reports, in 1968, the case of the famous John Gotti was a ruthless mobster from New York, United States. Gotti was arrested for stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise. In 1972, John Gotti was released from prison and two years later arrested for murder. John Gotti became the “made man” for the most powerful syndicates called the Gambino family who are known for gambling, loansharking, and narcotics trafficking.

Ruckno, H. (2019). reports “corruption is dishonest or unethical and often illegal behavior perpetrated by those in power such as corporate executives and government officials for their own personal gain (1). There are three different types of corruption. There is grand corruption, petty corruption, and political corruption. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation believes that such a severe offense can threaten both national security and everyday life. The FBI stated that public corruption costs the United States government and its habitants billions of dollars every year.”

Tran, T.-U. (n.d.). stated “Ben Hanson ran for state House in 2012, he could hardly believe that his campaign war chest could be spent on absolutely anything. Unlike nearly all other states, North Dakota had no laws restricting the use of campaign funds. “I was appalled at that,” Hanson said recently, explaining why he set out earlier this year to ban such funds from being used for personal reasons. The Democrat from West Fargo said he worked hard to get bipartisan sponsorship only to have his bill voted down by the chamber’s Republican supermajority. What especially irked him, he said, was the reason given by opponents. “I’ve been here since 2001, I’ve never heard of any of my colleagues both from the Democrat side and the Republican side discussing the fact that they had ever done anything like that and I don’t suspect that anybody would,” Rep. Jim Kasper, R-Fargo, said of treating campaign contributions as a personal slush fund. He spoke last February, just before the House voted, 65-26, to kill the bill.”

Rose-Ackerman, S. and Palifka, B. (2016). reports “Bribery is the explicit change of money, gifts in kind, or favors for rule breaking or as payment for benefits that should be legally be costless or be allocated on terms other than willingness to pay. Extortion is the demand of a bribe or favor by an official for doing his or her duty or for breaking a rule. Exchange of favors is the exchange of one broken rule for another. Judicial fraud is a decision based on any of the preceding types of corruption, or threats to the judge, rather than the merits of the case. Accounting fraud is intentional deception regarding sales or profits. Electoral fraud is the manipulation of election results, through vote buying or threats to the electorate, or by falsification or destruction of votes. Public service fraud is any activity that undermines the legal requirements of public service delivery even if no bribes are paid. Embezzlement is theft from the employer by an employee. Kleptocracy is an autocratic state that is managed to maximize the personal wealth of the top leaders. Influence peddling is using one’s power of decision in government to extract bribes or favors from interested parties. Conflicts of interest are having a personal stake in the effects of the policies one decides.”

Black, W. (2007). Explains “corruption kills and continues in today’s society around the world. Examples of past corruption that killed many people was in China, where illegal miners bribed government officials to keep mines open which in-turn led to miners dying from safety procedures and policy not followed. In Turkey, building codes were not followed with regard to seismic or earthquake construction mandates. Inspectors were bribed and buildings constructed poorly have collapsed during earthquakes and killed people. In Russia, Chechen terrorists have bribed police officials to send civilians to carry out bomb attacks on airplanes. In the state of Illinois, there was a scandal where public officials were bribed to issue commercial truck licenses which led to accidents that killed eight people.”

Today, corruption can be defeated if governments and societies become transparent and follow the laws of the land.
Mello, F. (n.d.). Stated “In Las Vegas Nevada the legislature governs a state with a $120 billion economy that includes gaming, gold-mining industries and tourist destinations. Lawmakers in Nevada sometimes hold meetings without providing notice to the public. Nevada does not inquire members of boards and commissions to disclose their financial ties.”

McWhirter, C. (2016, March 23). stated “Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and other state officials are “fundamentally accountable” for the lead contamination of Flint’s water supply, according to a report Wednesday from a panel appointed by the governor to investigate the crisis. “The Flint water crisis is a story of government failure, intransigence, unpreparedness, delay, inaction and environmental injustice,” said Chris Kolb, a co-chairman of the task force and president of Michigan Environmental Council, a nonprofit coalition of environmental groups in the state.”

Flint Water Crisis. (2019, December 4). stated “Officials looking to save money switched Flint, Michigan’s drinking water supply from the Detroit city system to the Flint River. This new water was highly corrosive. Because city and state officials broke federal law by failing to treat the water properly, lead leached out from aging pipes into thousands of homes.”

REFERENCES

1. Black W.K. (2007) Corruption Kills. In: Pontell H.N., Geis G. (eds) International Handbook of
   White-Collar and Corporate Crime. Springer, Boston, MA
2. FBI Surveillance Footage of John Gotti (2002) Famous Cases & Criminals. Retrieved on March
   11, 2020 from https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/john-gotti
3. Goel, R.K., Nelson, M.A. Corruption and government size: A disaggregated analysis. Public
   Choice 97, 107–120 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004900603583
4. Rose-Ackerman, S., Palifka, B., Corruption and Government: Causes, Consequences, and Reform. 2nd Edition. Cambridge University Press. (2016). Retrieved on March 1, 2020 from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=GGSSCwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR17&dq=corruption+in+government&ots=PdDWtm1TE4&sig=bsTycbWS2ZldKOOAA2uYcMqGex8#v=onepage&q=corruption%20in%20government&f=false
5. Sumah, S., (2017). Corruption, Causes and Consequences. Retrieved on March 1, 2020 from https://www.intechopen.com/books/trade-and-global-market/corruption-causes-and-consequences
6. Transparency International Corruption. (2018). Retrieved on March 1, 2020 from
   https://www.transparency.org/what-is-corruption#define
7. Top 10 Bribery and Corruption Stories of 2019. (2020, January 7). Retrieved from https://www.crigroup.com/2020/01/06/top-10-bribery-and-corruption-stories-of-2019/
8. Pegg, D., & Evans, R. (2019, October 31). Unaoil executives admit paying multimillion-dollar bribes. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/oct/31/unaoil-executives-admit-paying-multimillion-dollar-bribes
9. Khan, E. (2017, April 11). 10 Most Corrupt Countries in The World. Retrieved from https://www.wonderslist.com/10-most-corrupt-countries-in-the-world/
10. Roebuck, J. (2017, June 29). Philly DA Seth Williams pleads guilty, goes to prison. Retrieved from https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/crime/philly-da-seth-williams-xxxxxxxx-20170629.html
11. Tran, T.-U. (n.d.). North Dakota gets D- grade in 2015 State Integrity Investigation. Retrieved from https://publicintegrity.org/politics/state-politics/state-integrity-investigation/north-dakota-gets-d-grade-in-2015-state-integrity-investigation/
12. Mello, F. (n.d.). Nevada gets F grade in 2015 State Integrity Investigation. Retrieved from https://publicintegrity.org/politics/state-politics/state-integrity-investigation/nevada-gets-f-grade-in-2015-state-integrity-investigation/
13. Flint Water Crisis. (2019, December 4). Retrieved from https://www.nrdc.org/flint
14. McWhirter, C. (2016, March 23). Michigan Officials Responsible for Flint Water Crisis, Panel Finds. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/michigan-officials-responsible-for-flint-water-crisis-governor-appointed-panel-finds-1458762906

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