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If it's not a bribe?

If it's not a bribe?

Debates


@kmax87 said
It’s the Bechtel way. The revolving door that sends upper level management to Washington and returns them back to the company when they’ve been successful. It’s a cost plus boondoggle, and is it corruption if what’s good for Bechtel is good for America? And they are not alone in doing this. They are just the first and most successful at doing it.
Yeah, you're in the "shrug" phase. It seems clearly immoral and wrong, though. It seems like there should be more public engagement towards fixing it.


@wildgrass said
I don't understand any of this. You are saying a publicly traded mining company might use some of its earnings for political donations with no expectation of a return on the investment?

What about the companies who receive no bid military contracts from the same politicians that they donate to? How is that legal?
Please re-phrase 1st paragraph. I don't understand, a corp would certainly support a candidate who would favor laws favorable to the corporation.

A discussion of your second para would be a bit too extreme. I don't 'go to the books' as does Marauder. He can answer that one.


@AverageJoe1 said
Please re-phrase 1st paragraph. I don't understand, a corp would certainly support a candidate who would favor laws favorable to the corporation.

A discussion of your second para would be a bit too extreme. I don't 'go to the books' as does Marauder. He can answer that one.
You think it's ok though?


@wildgrass said
You think it's ok though?
Off the cuff, I would say that this would not be 'an arm's length transaction' (no pun intended). The concept of donations must be a level playing field, this premise would have the other businesses (competing, but not allowed to compete, as it was no-bid) at a disadvantage.

My two cents.


@AverageJoe1 said
Off the cuff, I would say that this would not be 'an arm's length transaction' (no pun intended). The concept of donations must be a level playing field, this premise would have the other businesses (competing, but not allowed to compete, as it was no-bid) at a disadvantage.

My two cents.
I think it'd be a pretty simple and reasonable law/rule to prohibit companies from donating to political campaigns if they receive government funds directly (by form of grant or contract).

Probably we should go well beyond that too, but its ridiculous that Lockheed-Martin, a company where more than 50% of profit is coming directly from taxpayers, also donates millions of dollars to individual politicians who write those contracts.

It's a bribe.

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@wildgrass said
I still think laws can be written to limit campaign contributions that would fit within constitutional law.
Of course they can, but this Court would never allow it.