How Corrupt Is the American Government?

George Washington's picture




 

Government corruption has become rampant:

  • Senior SEC employees spent up to 8 hours a day surfing porn sites instead of cracking down on financial crimes
  • NSA spies pass around homemade sexual videos and pictures they’ve collected from spying on the American people
  • Investigators from the Treasury’s Office of the Inspector General found that some of the regulator’s employees surfed erotic websites, hired prostitutes and accepted gifts from bank executives … instead of actually working to help the economy
  • The Minerals Management Service – the regulator charged with overseeing BP and other oil companies to ensure that oil spills don’t occur – was riddled with “a culture of substance abuse and promiscuity”, which included “sex with industry contacts
  • Agents for the Drug Enforcement Agency had dozens of sex parties with prostitutes hired by the drug cartels they were supposed to stop (they also received money, gifts and weapons from drug cartel members)
  • The former chief accountant for the SEC says that Bernanke and Paulson broke the law and should be prosecuted
  • The government knew about mortgage fraud a long time ago. For example, the FBI warned of an “epidemic” of mortgage fraud in 2004. However, the FBI, DOJ and other government agencies then stood down and did nothing. See this and this. For example, the Federal Reserve turned its cheek and allowed massive fraud, and the SEC has repeatedly ignored accounting fraud (a whistleblower also “gift-wrapped and delivered” the Madoff scandal to the SEC, but they refused to take action). Indeed, Alan Greenspan took the position that fraud could never happen
  • Paulson and Bernanke falsely stated that the big banks receiving Tarp money were healthy when they were not. The Treasury Secretary also falsely told Congress that the bailouts would be used to dispose of toxic assets … but then used the money for something else entirely
  • The American government’s top official in charge of the bank bailouts wrote, “Americans should lose faith in their government. They should deplore the captured politicians and regulators who distributed tax dollars to the banks without insisting that they be accountable. The American people should be revolted by a financial system that rewards failure and protects those who drove it to the point of collapse and will undoubtedly do so again.”
  • Congress has exempted itself from the healthcare rules it insists everyone else follow
  • Law enforcement also grabs massive amounts of people’s cash, cars and property … even when people aren’t CHARGED with – let alone convicted of – any crime
  • Private prisons are huge profit-making centers for giant companies, and private prison corporations obtain quotas from the government, where the government guarantees a certain number of prisoners at any given time
  • The government covered up the health risks to New Orleans residents associated with polluted water from hurricane Katrina, and FEMA covered up the cancer risk from the toxic trailers which it provided to refugees of the hurricane. The Centers for Disease Control – the lead agency tasked with addressing disease in America – covered up lead poisoning in children in the Washington, D.C. area (the Centers for Disease Control has also been outed as receiving industry funding)
  • In response to new studies showing the substantial dangers of genetically modified foods, the government passed legislation more or less PUSHING IT onto our plates
  • Government scientists originally pushed fluoridation of water as “safe and effective” because fluoride is a major byproduct of making nuclear weapons … and the government ordered them to downplay the risks of fluoride exposure in order to prevent massive lawsuits by those suffering injury from poisoning
  • The Bush White House worked hard to smear CIA officers, bloggers and anyone else who criticized the Iraq war
  • The FBI smeared top scientists who pointed out the numerous holes in its anthrax case. Indeed, the head of the FBI’s investigation agrees that corruption was rampant
  • Warmongers in the U.S. government knowingly and intentionally lied us into a war of aggression in Iraq. The former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – the highest ranking military officer in the United States – said that the Iraq war was “based on a series of lies”. The same is true in Libya, Syria and other wars. Indeed, the U.S. has often launched or proposed launching wars based upon FALSE PREMISES
  • When the American government got caught assassinating innocent civilians, it changed its definition of “enemy combatants” to include all young men – between the ages of say 15 and 35 – who happen to be in battle zones. When it got busted killing kids with drones, it changed the definition again to include kids as “enemy combatants”
  • The government treats journalists who report on government corruption as CRIMINALS OR TERRORISTS. And it goes to great lengths to smear them. For example, when USA Today reporters busted the Pentagon for illegally targeting Americans with propaganda, the Pentagon launched a SMEAR CAMPAIGN against the reporters. But  journalists who act as mere cheerleaders for the government who never criticize are protected and rewarded

The biggest companies own the D.C. politicians. Indeed, the head of the economics department at George Mason University has pointed out that it is unfair to call politicians “prostitutes”. They are in fact pimps … selling out the American people for a price.

Government regulators have become so corrupted and “captured” by those they regulate that Americans know that the cop is on the take. Institutional corruption is killing people’s trust in our government and our institutions.

Neither the Democratic or Republican parties represent the interests of the American people. Elections have become nothing but scripted beauty contests, with both parties ignoring the desires of their own bases.

Indeed, America is no longer a democracy or republic … it’s officially an oligarchy. And the allowance of unlimited campaign spending allows the oligarchs to purchase politicians more directly than ever.

No wonder polls show that the American people say that the system is so thoroughly corrupt that government corruption is now Americans’ number one fear.

And politicians from both sides of the aisle say that corruption has destroyed America. And see this.

Moreover, there are two systems of justice in Americaone for the big banks and other fatcats … and one for everyone else. Indeed, Americans have .

Big Corporations Are Also Thoroughly Corrupt

But the private sector is no better … for example, the big banks have literally turned into criminal syndicates engaged in systemic fraud.

Wall Street and giant corporations are literally manipulating every single market.

And the big corporations are cutting corners to make an extra penny … wreaking havoc with their carelessness. For example:

  • U.S. military contractors have pocketed huge sums of money earmarked for humanitarian and reconstruction aid. And see this (whistleblowers alerted the government about the looting of Iraq reconstruction funds, but nothing was done)
  • There is systemic corruption among drug companies, scientific journals, university medical departments, and medical groups which set the criteria for diagnosis and treatment

(Further examples here, here, here, here and here.)

We’ve Forgotten the Lessons of History

The real problem is that we need to learn a little history:

  • We’ve known for thousands of years that – when criminals are not punished – crime spreads
  • We’ve known for centuries that powerful people – unless held to account – will get together and steal from everyone else

Beyond Partisan Politics

Conservatives and liberals tend to blame our country’s problems on different factors … but they are all connected.

The real problem is the malignant, symbiotic relationship between big corporations and big government.

5
Your rating: None Average: 5 (64 votes)
 

- advertisements -

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Thu, 01/07/2016 - 17:06 | 7013661 12357111317
12357111317's picture

Yes, but:

Congress, led by Paul Ryan, just passed the Omnibus Bill without reading it.

Justice John Roberts is Catholic.  My guess is that Bush was rewarding Catholics, since so many voted for him.  If Bush could choose between a Catholic and a libertarian Presbyterian, and if 10 times as many Catholics voted as libertarian Presbyterians, then Bush did the natural thing.  I don't count on politicians to keep their promises; I do count on them to try to reward the larger groups which provided votes and campaign funding dollars.

I don't consider anyone in the Bush family a strict constitutionalist.

I still think the smart thing to do is to vote.

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 07:46 | 7003872 overmedicatedun...
overmedicatedundersexed's picture

corrupt? on a scale of 0 to 10, .gov gets an 11.

Hank Paulson approves this message.

GW you left out the Judges..a life time job with great bennies - why some judges can even write tax law for the congress..robertson the usurper of scotus

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 07:46 | 7003869 Vendetta
Vendetta's picture

Is that all you got GW!   /snark

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 07:41 | 7003863 Bendromeda Strain
Bendromeda Strain's picture

I would like to commend you GW. I generally despise linkfests with "and see this, and this, and this, and also here." You have been known for this in the past, but with this comprehensive look you actually describe each link as you give them. Much nicer for people with limited time or specific focus. Thank you.

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 07:33 | 7003838 atthelake
atthelake's picture

So, when we lose everything will we bend over and take it or find our balls? We live in interesting times.

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 07:29 | 7003831 Dr. Spin
Dr. Spin's picture

...and this is just the crap at the national level.  I can say with authority that state and local governments are just as corrupt and inept. 

Welcome to the last days of Pax Americana.

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 07:06 | 7003773 Wow72
Wow72's picture

Wow, Nice List! Thanks I guess?

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 03:44 | 7003581 VWAndy
VWAndy's picture

Thats just the stuff we know about. Like it is with icebergs thats just the tip.

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 02:16 | 7003499 Cycle
Cycle's picture

The real problem is the malignant, symbiotic relationship between big corporations and big government.

AKA as Fascism.

 

Sat, 01/09/2016 - 13:55 | 7022391 Arnold
Arnold's picture

Nice work Geo.

Needs broader eyeballs.

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 21:53 | 7008427 illyia
illyia's picture

Cycle, I do not know why I cannot up-arrow you but I cannot.

Consider yourself rec'd.

Sat, 01/09/2016 - 13:58 | 7022399 Arnold
Arnold's picture

Italics, and evidently Bold to start the comment prevent that.

 

Your keyboard gurus might be able to answer why.

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 10:26 | 7004581 sleigher
sleigher's picture

Big government is a big corporation.  A governmental services organization.  USA Inc.!

There has been no lawful government for a very, very long time.

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 08:40 | 7004049 JRobby
JRobby's picture

Shocking and Unprecedented were left behind a long, long time ago

Late in 2001

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 10:47 | 7004690 11b40
11b40's picture

Actually, near the end of 2000, when the Supreme Court gave the election to Shrub,  with help from brother Jeb!, and the neocons marched in & took over.  

The lock the MIC gained from the neocons, combined with the gift Bill Clinton left the financial industry after the repeal of Glass Steagal, and passage of CAFTA, as he was walking out the door, meant that the beginning of the new millennium meant the end of America as we once knew it.

Shock & awe, Bitchez!  Military and financial shock & awe.

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 19:31 | 7007599 Crawdaddy
Crawdaddy's picture

Clowns like Bshes, Clntons, Obmas and Gres would never survive a fair election. Especially if the election was covered by actual, reporters. It has been a long time since our media, especially TV channels, were not controlled by the bad guys.

The shadow govts print money and buy everything to make it seem like people love them. Some ARE fooled into thinking our govts are real and just. Some people DO believe elections still matter. Some people DO believe in systems that really do not exist. Perception is reality? That doesn't make it true. A lie is still a lie.

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 11:03 | 7004795 JRobby
JRobby's picture

That is a really good point. I must have blocked THE FLORIDA FIASCO/SUPREME COURT PURCHASE out of my mind. Too traumatic.

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 08:33 | 7004020 DeadFred
DeadFred's picture

But this list seems to indicate that the corporate takeover has been aided and abetted by the inability of Americans to keep their tallywhacker in their pants. LOL I once had a friend who ran an import/export company in post-Yugoslavia. He said that every deal involved bribes. You just had to know what the proper bribe was. For a deal in Africa you sent $1000 to the government official in charge of okaying the deal. To get a loan from Chase you sent the CEO's secretary a dozen roses. It would seem your average male American official responds better when offered a diseased 18 year old female in short shorts.

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 22:48 | 7008775 jeff montanye
jeff montanye's picture

that male american official would rather a clean fifteen year old but he has scruples.

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 13:38 | 7004848 KnuckleDragger-X
KnuckleDragger-X's picture

 

"First as tragedy, then as farce" Our government has become has become a situation comedy, and very poorly written and directed.......

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 03:52 | 7003591 Element
Element's picture

et's da fluoride I tells yas!

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 13:23 | 7005666 doctor10
doctor10's picture

Somewhere up until the 1930's Edward Gibbon's Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire-in all its 7 or so volumes, was required curricula to earn an Ivy League diploma.

 

I doubt many Ivy Leagues grads are even aware of the tome today

 

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 22:00 | 7008484 illyia
illyia's picture

Or, you can buy the abridged edition. It's very good.

Paperback: 700 pages
Publisher: Phoenix; Abridged edition (August 1, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0753818817
ISBN-13: 978-0753818817
Product Dimensions: 5 x 1.9 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

 

http://www.amazon.com/Decline-Fall-Roman-Empire/dp/0753818817/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452135374&sr=1-6&keywords=Decline+and+Fall+of+the+Roman+Empire

 

 

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 22:45 | 7008768 jeff montanye
jeff montanye's picture

note doctor that it is the decline and fall not the rise and fall.

got to go to someone else for the rise.

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 19:16 | 7007559 Crawdaddy
Crawdaddy's picture

FWIW, this coincides with the demise of Protestant influence in the Ivys (and pretty much evrywhere else in the US) and the subsequent rise of Medici humanism that dominates everywhere today.

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 11:04 | 7004803 Tarzan
Tarzan's picture

So the Government is corrupt from top to bottom, because they watch porn on the job?

But the Hammond's are JAILED domestic terrorists for not selling their land to the BLM And Bundy is a crazed lunatic for making a stand against them?

Ya, the propaganda has us all twisting in the wind..

I say let them watch porn 8 hours a day, less time to plot our demise!

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 12:04 | 7005221 DaveyJones
DaveyJones's picture

I think this sums up the corruption level

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46kXH6GGtT0

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 13:41 | 7005750 chunga
chunga's picture

What I'm really noticing lately is gov really ramping up it's presense on "social media". By a lot. For example, if you read about the situation in Oregon with the ranchers, you'll notice the comments are almost all in support of gov. There is a lot of that going on on ZH as well.

There are many youtubes and the like critical of gov, and I see the same thing.

I've also noticed some bizarre shit out of the search engines. Here's an example...search on "Peyton Manning and HGH". I didn't go through the millions of results but a few pages in and none of them point directly to the original story on Al Jazeera that they all stem from.

Do a search on "American Married Couples", "American Business Owners", then select "images" and see if you notice anything strange. Yeah, the gov is completely corrupt but what to do about it? Gov administers sham elections every so often and they same scums get "elected" with a few similarly scummy new faces sprinkled in.

 

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 10:52 | 7004714 xavi1951
xavi1951's picture

It's Fukashima!

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 12:57 | 7005558 DavidC
DavidC's picture

No it's not, it's Fukushima.

DavidC

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 13:07 | 7005607 boattrash
boattrash's picture

No, it's a lack of utilization of guillotines and rope.

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 13:47 | 7005777 Handful of Dust
Handful of Dust's picture

The whole problem can be blamed on ........................ the Confederate Flag!

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 14:06 | 7005852 boattrash
boattrash's picture

Did you mean, the War of Northern Aggression?

Fri, 01/08/2016 - 22:00 | 7020205 Farqued Up
Farqued Up's picture

You tell 'em boattrash!!

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 20:05 | 7007799 undertow1141
undertow1141's picture

But they just said GUNS are the source of all evil.

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 12:24 | 7005350 Element
Element's picture

It's liposuction meets chocolate eclair addiction!

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 19:35 | 7007651 El Oregonian
El Oregonian's picture

Your tax dollars hard at work....

Wed, 01/06/2016 - 22:32 | 7008649 jeff montanye
jeff montanye's picture

strictly speaking north carolina didn't exactly legalize prostitutes for lawmakers.  it said sex given to lawmakers by lobbyists (i.e sex with the lobbyist) was not a reportable ethics transaction as it had no monetary value.  should the lobbyist purchase a prostitute for the law maker it could very well be a reportable ethics transaction as there was a monetary value. tptb didn't say it would be for sure but that there was a good possibility.

i feel better.

time spent as a prostitute would now be a point to be highlighted on a lobbyist's resume so as to let the employer know s/he was ready, willing and legal.

Thu, 01/07/2016 - 06:06 | 7009700 CuttingEdge
CuttingEdge's picture

The fish rots from the head, and just that one item about Congress making itself immune to prosecution for insider trading defines how corrupt the US government is. No more than say, Nigeria, just far more blatant about it. Always makes me laugh when they show a world map of corruption levels, and Europe and the US are indicated as bastions of integrity.

Feudal times - just with iPhones and Kardashians.

Fuck me, when the guillotine eventually starts to sing, there is a shitload of lopping to be done.

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!