So How Corrupt Is Washington, Anyway?

The American economy increasingly serves only a narrow part of society, and America’s national politics has failed to put the country back on track through honest, open, and transparent problem solving. Too many of America’s elites-among the super-rich, the CEOs, and many of my colleagues in academia-have abandoned a commitment to social responsibility. They chase wealth and power, the rest of society be damned.
   — Jeffrey Sachs

Henry Blodget put the question in the title to now-reformed lobbyist Jack Abramhoff in Ex-Lobbyist Jack Abramoff: Here’s How to Clean Up Washington Corruption (video below). In his introduction Henry goes on to describe what goes on as legalized bribery. Abramhoff's response?

I think that's exactly right... [I crossed lines] you didn't need to cross. You can be completely contemptible, frankly, within the system, and be completely legal, and that's part of the problem in Washington.

Washington is pretty damn corrupt, but that's not the most amazing thing going on here in the United States. What is truly astonishing is that "serious" people who are taken seriously by other "serious" people propose policy solutions and push various political agendas without ever acknowledging this simple fact of contemporary life.

In other words, there's a whole lotta pretending going on.

Writing in Forbes, Nathan Lewis believes that The Crisis of Capitalism Is a Lack of Capitalism. In an interview with Bill Moyers, David Stockman calls what we have today Crony Capitalism, which is not really Capitalism because the markets have been distorted beyond all recognition.

Today, following the long-established principles of capitalism seems like it is a game for suckers. Capitalism is a tough game. Competition is fierce. The risk of failure is high. The profits, as noted, are often low. No wonder the successful are so highly regarded. American Airlines, General Motors, and Kodak provided useful goods and services for decades, on a grand scale, and provided prosperous employment for hundreds of thousands of employees. Nevertheless, they didn’t quite meet capitalism’s difficult standards.

Theft is a much easier game. The risk is low. The profits are high. There is no competition. You don’t even need employees. You just pay off the Congressman, and stick the money in your pocket.

This is not confined only to the financial industry. The entities that are thriving today are those that enjoy some sort of government favor. Defense contractors and the war industry. The education and healthcare cartels. Government employees and their absurd compensation plans. Competition is low. Profit margins are high. And why do we keep having wars with countries with lots of oil (or heroin)? You know why.

Yes, we know why. We can't even get a reasonable fix on what a barrel of oil should cost. If the markets are distorted, and have been for years, who can figure out what's really going? Only those on the inside, that's who. It's the same story in the equity markets, or any other market for that matter.

So how corrupt is Washington, anyway? Watch the video to find out.

 

Comments

[Wanooski]

Is anyone really shocked anymore? It hasn't been a secret that washington is corrupt as hell for years. It's more or less legal, and practically encouraged. Why would Mr. Smith even want to go to Washington anymore? Probably so he can get him some sweet K street cash, cocaine and hookers. I dunno if there is any way this problem could be solved short of a total abandonment of the federal government.