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Is That All There Is?
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This summer New Jersey and New York were rocked by one of the largest corruption scandals in our states’ history. By now the entire nation is familiar with the details, Assemblymen, mayors, rabbis, high-ranking state officials all charged with fraud, taking bribes and money laundering. Federal prosecutors should be commended for their care and diligence in pursuing a two-year case and bring it to a sharp, crisp conclusion. The nets spread quickly and completely as charged defendants, regardless of position, were scooped up.
The connection between politics and corruption is nothing new. Indeed, corruption is a cancer that affects the entire world. It is a drain on local economies as resources are lost for the sole purpose of making payoffs.
Ideally public service is about bringing something back to the community, it is about leading, improving and striving for better conditions. We need someone to administer and manage our public works and yet those who are put in charge twist this message into a single goal, self-profiteering.
Perhaps there too much pressure on our public officials. They must spend millions to get elected and we expect massive developments while demanding decreased taxes. Progress without support is a tough act to build. People faced with insurmountable obstacles often resort to extreme measures.
Perhaps our system of politics does not attract our best and brightest leaders. Candidates must bend and sway their principles to better connect with disparate voting blocs. Once elected, public leaders must live in a fish bowl where every decision, every action, every thought is broken down and criticized. After all that, income from a public service position would hardly make ends meet considering the level of expenses needed to meet expected obligations.
Perhaps the reason that these frauds occurred is because the participants had a perceived need and thought that they could get away with it. It is our issue as a society that creates the need and it is their individual failing in ethics and morals and intelligence to believe they would not get caught.
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