All Roads Lead To… Corruption?

It seems like no matter what decisions the Obama administration makes, all they do is feed the already obscene corruption to the verge of explosion. Even the anti-corruption measure somehow end up increasing it, like a black hole that keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Now, I know it`s nothing new. After all, that`s what every presidential administration has been doing for decades now… but what makes me (and probably every decent American out there) angry out of my mind is that Obama has been promising here and there and everywhere that he and his fellows will eradicate corruption, no matter what. I`m sure you haven`t missed his passionate speeches about the damage corruption brings to the budget…

Just a little example from April 2012:

“In the months ahead, Congress should do even more to help fight the destructive influence of money in politics and rebuild the trust between Washington and the American people.” (patriotpost.us)

So you can only imagine my reaction when I saw this:

source: rt.com

In case you`re not familiar with STOCK (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge) Act, it`s an Act of Congress designed to combat insider trading and it was signed into law by Obama just last year. The bill prohibits the use of non-public information for private profit, including insider trading by members of Congress and other government employees. Basically, it was the first real measure taken against governmental corruption.

However, Obama seems to have changed his mind all of the sudden. Now, high-ranking federal employees will not be required to disclose financial information online. Mr. president made sure his “best friends” will be spared of sharing this information with the rest of the world when he signed an amendment to this bill.

In fact, both chambers unanimously voted in favour of the amendments. What a surprise! Politicians allowed themselves not to disclose any financial information. I can only imagine their smug faces grinning while voting in favour: “Yes, I do want to make illegal operations and get away with it. And Mr. President says I can…”

Now, please, guess the reason behind this sudden change. How do you think these fine gentlemen justified the amendments? Well, it appears that the Congress approved a study conducted by the National Academy of Public Administration, which concluded that a public database would “threaten the safety of public officials”. And here`s the punchline:  it would “make running for office less appealing for people working in the private sector”. (RTAmerica)

Unfortunately, it`s not a joke. The reality is that almost 30,000 government officials will keep doing shenanigans without having any Big Brother watching them. On the other hand, regular Americans like you and I are being shamelessly spied on every single day, for no reason whatsoever. They`ve gone so far that they`re now collecting twitter and facebook, in case people confess to cheating IRS online.

source: www.wxyz.com

And don`t even get me started on the IRS! Those leeches have been stealing jobless benefits and welfare for years now. Just last week, I read an article about some IRS workers in Tennessee who fleeced U.S. taxpayers out of $250,000 (!) in government benefits. All they had to do was to make some false statements to get the benefits (including unemployment insurance).

Now, if you tried to pull a scheme like that and steal not $250,000… but $2,500… you`d be locked up or paying through your nose for this “unpatriotic act”. Let alone the humiliation you`d have to go through, which is absolutely inevitable when you`re forced to deal with government employees.

Unfortunately, this is a game of power where we`re nothing more but pawns, in a country where kings and bishops make their own rules, play dirty, cheat and lie. And all for their own personal fun and gain. However, I`m still hoping that someday, I`ll get to see their smug faces when they hear “Checkmate”.

By Alec Deacon