{"id":32086,"date":"2021-04-21T12:21:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-21T16:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/?p=32086"},"modified":"2021-04-08T16:31:00","modified_gmt":"2021-04-08T20:31:00","slug":"more-corruption-from-bigger-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2021\/04\/21\/more-corruption-from-bigger-government\/","title":{"rendered":"More corruption from bigger government?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Americans often think that the U.S. is relatively free from corruption because cash payoffs, they suppose, are less common here than in some poorer countries. A friend in the money world, though, points out that we just don’t see the special deals obtained by the connected. “Look at all of the Goldman guys,” he said. “They rotate into government and are ‘forced’ to sell all of their shares to avoid a conflict of interest, so they skip out on paying capital gains tax for 20 years of appreciation. Then they rotate out and give their job to another Goldman executive so that he can cash in.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buried toward the end of Fly the Quota Skies<\/a> is an interesting article on what it takes to do business in New York\/New Jersey. “United Settles Charges in Case of Flight Route to Benefit Public Official”<\/a>. From the Federales:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the SEC\u2019s order instituted today, United reinstated a nonstop flight between Newark, N.J., and Columbia, S.C., at the behest of David Samson, the then-chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who sought a more direct route to his home in South Carolina. … the SEC\u2019s order finds that United officials feared Samson\u2019s influence could jeopardize United\u2019s business interests before the Port Authority, including the approval of a hangar project to help the airline at Newark\u2019s airport<\/strong>. The company ultimately decided to initiate the route despite the poor financial projections. The same day that United\u2019s then-CEO approved initiation of the route, the Port Authority\u2019s board approved the lease agreement related to the hangar project. United employees were told \u201cno proactive communications\u201d about the new route. … The route ultimately lost approximately $945,000 before it ceased again roughly around the time of Samson\u2019s resignation from the Port Authority.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

With each $2 trillion spending bill and the lockdowns that shrink the private economy, the share of the GDP devoted to or controlled by government grows. So these opportunities for corruption also grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Readers: What do you think? Will corruption be the sector of the economy that grows fastest over the next decade (as government is expanded by Presidents Biden and Harris)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related:<\/p>\n\n\n\n