POLITICAL CORRUPTION

Copyright 2006, Chuck Klein

 

Recently, the sitting Governor of Ohio, Republican Robert Taft, plead no-contest and was convicted of numerous misdemeanor crimes (Cincinnati Enquirer front page story). The good news is, none of the crimes for which the Governor was convicted were felonies. The bad news is, he committed crimes while in office - doing things, such as, in Taft's case, playing golf (and not reporting the gift) while he should have been tending to state business.THE BEST OF CHUCK KLEIN The really bad news is, he's no different than far too many other politicians - Republicans as well as Democrats - "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely" (Lord Acton, 1887). The solution? Much swifter and stiffer punishment for those caught lying, cheating or stealing. Unless the consequences are significant, for example, impeachment and loss of retirement benefits, government officials, elected and appointed, will continue to line their own pockets, scratch their fellow bureaucrats backs and favor their friends.