Unlike in Europe and the UK, where such political influence from corporations and the wealthy never happens /s
At least in the US we (try) and make donations public. The places where it’s “banned” are black holes.
At least in the US we (try) and make donations public. The places where it’s “banned” are black holes.
1. In Europe and UK, bribery (Let's not sugercoat it as "lobbying". We all know what it is.) is illegal. So people will just do it secretly. In other words, legislation doesn't prevent bad things, in this case, bribery, from happening.
2. In the US, bribery is legal, but hiding the records is illegal. So people will make it public. In other words, legislation does prvent bad things, in this case, covert bribery, from happening.
I guess legislation is just so much more effective in the US.
That is definitely an interesting take. So, is your ideal society one where anybody is allowed to give and take bribes as long as it is public?
Given that influence and manipulation is impossible to stamp out, and then realizing that some of those that want to influence are some of the richest and most powerful entities on earth, I would personally rather allow lobbying and donations to be legal, but require all of it to be public. That way you can tell who is taking money from who.
Otherwise, it’s just the mafia and insiders games all the way up the chain.
There is a huge dufference between “subject matter expert advises lawmaker to vote some way” and “business tycoon hands a bag of money to lawmaker to vote some way.” Somehow, America has equated the two, and considers them equally acceptable.