BOOK REVIEW: EXTORTION: How Politicians Extract Your Money, Buy Votes, and Line The

[Foxfyre]

For a change of pace, how about a book review thread. I will request a disciplined and thoughtful discussion of the concepts and themes Peter Schweizer presents in his most recent book released late last year. Those of you concerned about corporate welfare, lobbyists, and other special interests and influence peddlers will likely find at least something of interest in this very well researched and written short book.

The focus of the discussion I request be directed to: Is Schweizer right? Or is Schweizer wrong in the different concepts in the book that we will discuss.

BOOK REVIEW: EXTORTION: How Politicians Extract Your Money, Buy Votes, and Line Their Own Pockets

Short version of author's bio:

Peter Schweizer is the William J. Casey Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution. A former consultant to NBC News, he also served as a member of the Ultraterrorism Study Group at the Sandia National Laboratory. . . .

. . . .His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, National Review, Foreign Affairs, and elsewhere. He has spoken before dozens of corporate audiences including those at Amoco, Arthur Anderson, and the Independent Petroleum Association of America, as well as before numerous student groups including Young America's Foundation and groups at the University of Virginia, and Florida State University.

He has appeared on ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, and the BBC.

Schweizer received his MPhil degree from Oxford University and his BA degree from George Washington University.

The opening passage:

The Potomac River that snakes by Washington, D.C., was given its name by the local native Americans centuries ago. Potomac was the name of a local tribe. According to some accounts, the word means "the place where goods are off loaded," or "the place where tribute is paid." As journalists say, that latter meaning is a fact too good to check.

It is often said that "money is corrupting politics." And as ever, this is true. Outside interests, from labor unions to large corporations, are influencing and distorting our government in the search for favorable policies. And these interests are well prepared to push money and special favors into Washington D.C., in order to get them.

But a deeper, more sinister problem that has been overlooked better explains the dismal state of our national government politics is corrupting money. While we have focused on the power that contributors have over officials, we have largely ignored the power that officials have over contributors. We have focused on the buyers of influence (those outside special interests), but paid little heed to the sellers of influence--bureaucrats and politicians.

In short, we have come to believe the problem in Washington is a sort of legalized bribery. If outside interests can only be held at bay, we can and will get better leadership.

But what if we are wrong? What if the problem is not bribery. . .but extortion? What if the Permanent Political Class in Washington, made up of individuals from both political parties, is using its coercive public power to not only stay in office but to threaten others and to extract wealth, and in the bargain pick up private benefits for themselves, their friends, and their families?. . . .

 

[Foxfyre]

To begin I just request that those with any interest in this topic chime in here or at least subscribe to the thread. I'll be back with the concept from Chapter 1 shortly.

 

[Foxfyre]

Further comment from the opening chapter:

(Note: almost everything presented as fact in the book is marked with a reference to its source. There are almost as many pages of such references in the back of the book as there are in the text of the book itself.)

I am working from my Kindle copy here so I can't give the exact page numbers the material is taken from, but can give the chapter in which it is found.

. . . .One survey of corporate executives conducted by the Committee for Economic Development found that half gave to political andidates because they "fear adverse consequences for themselves or their industry if they turn down requests."​

Have you ever looked at it that way? That rather than corporate America bribing officials for special favors, it is more a matter of extortion by the politicians--if you want this bill passed or that bill deep sixed, you are expected to pony up some substantial cash?

 

[ScreamingEagle]

so does he say how a politician typically washes his 'extorted' campaign funds so he can put them into his own banking account....?

 

[Foxfyre]

so does he say how a politician typically washes his 'extorted' campaign funds so he can put them into his own banking account....?

Hi Eagle, and yes. He gets into that in subsequent chapters.

The table of contents in the book:

Introduction
America's Most Expensive Toll Booth
Protection for a Price
The Underground Washington Economy
The Double-Milker
Slush Funds
Trust Me
Protection for a Price
It's a Family Affair
Conclusion

And it is no accident that "Protection for a Price" appears twice in the Table of Contents because that is the biggie.

 

[MACAULAY]

I have an interest in the topic and I thank you for bringing it to us. Who can disagree with the premises of the opening statement?

De Toqueville saw it in the 1840's and feared it on behald of all who hoped America had found its way to a permanent Freedom. Big Brother has arrived.

But, it is caused by a decay in the society as a whole. Christiam values and Jeffersonian ideals built this country into the greatest the world has known so far....and today those values and ideals are pretty much ridiculed. Things like self-reliance has fallen into disrepute, and the profit incentive is considered an officious notion.

As the Federal Government grows inexorably, something terrifyingly close to a majority have just said "fuck it" and settled into a lifetime suckle at the Federal TiT.

And this gives the politicians and beaurecrats power---which they must use to extort money from the producers to give to the sucklings...and make themselves rich.

It is indictment enough that the richest little part of America is the area around the District of Columbia.

But, its what the people vote for, because they have become dependant and degenerate and jealous.

We are watching the decline of a great society. It has happened to them all.

 

[Foxfyre]

I have an interest in the topic and I thank you for bringing it to us. Who can disagree with the premises of the opening statement?

De Toqueville saw it in the 1840's and feared it on behald of all who hoped America had found its way to a permanent Freedom. Big Brother has arrived.

But, it is caused by a decay in the society as a whole. Christiam values and Jeffersonian ideals built this country into the greatest the world has known so far....and today those values and ideals are pretty much ridiculed. Things like self-reliance has fallen into disrepute, and the profit incentive is considered an officious notion.

As the Federal Government grows inexorably, something terrifyingly close to a majority have just said "fuck it" and settled into a lifetime suckle at the Federal TiT.

And this gives the politicians and beaurecrats power---which they must use to extort money from the producers to give to the sucklings...and make themselves rich.

It is indictment enough that the richest little part of America is the area around the District of Columbia.

But, its what the people vote for, because they have become dependant and degenerate and jealous.

We are watching the decline of a great society. It has happened to them all.

Hi Macauley, and alas, I can't really argue with that.

I have been watching, and commenting on, the phenomenon for some years.

I have lobbied long and hard--with words of course--for a Constitutional amendment that would prevent those in Washington from using our money to provide any form of benefit for any person, entity, special interest, demographic etc. that did not benefit all regardless of their political leanings or socioeconomic circumstances.

I naively thought that would take care of the lobbyists, union pressures, campaign finance reform, corporate welfare, voter fraud, etc. etc. etc. because nobody would be able to buy favors from government. Thus removed from their ability to use our money to buy power, influence, prestige, and personal wealth for themselves, the professional politicians and bureaucrats would leave Washington and we would again be able to elect and appoint true public servants to high office.

But after reading Schwiezer's book, I now know that while my idea would help somewhat--would provide some patches--it would not fix the problem. Because what Schweizer describes as the permanent political class would still be extorting money from citizens and thereby enriching themselves.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Bribery and Extortion.

The writer is on the correct track.

 

[Foxfyre]

Chapter 2
America's Most Expensive Toll Booth

Politics is the art of putting people under obligation to you--Jacob Arvey, Illinois Party Boss (1990)​

He opens with a discussion of the process in NY City in which a construction company during the time the Mob controlled everything from the unions to the city employees who approved permits. So paying a 'fee' to the mob along with the city government was just another cost of doing business.

In Washington, the politicians are paid a salary to represent us. (In the current news is the campaign to raise those salaries because they 'aren't being paid enough.) But the real money comes to the politicians in the form of a sort of 'mob tax'. If the corporations or other interested parties don't come up with some hefty campaign contributions or fork over cash for this or that, they may find themselves with an unfriendly Congress on their hands.

Says Sweizer: "They expect--they require--payments to perform such regular duties as holding hearings, voting, and passing legislation. Or they sell their votes to other members for money."

How would it go over in your work place if you demanded money just to do the tasks in your job description?

What do you think? Is this acceptable? Justifiable? "Defensible?"

 

[bripat9643]

Bribery and Extortion.

The writer is on the correct track.

Don't pretend you read the book, Fakey. We know they don't allow such reading materials in the nursing home.

 

[Foxfyre]

Bribery and Extortion.

The writer is on the correct track.

Don't pretend you read the book, Fakey. We know they don't allow such reading materials in the nursing home.

Hi Bripat. Please take any quarrel you have with other members to some other thread. I really REALLY would like to discuss the topic in this one.

What is your impression of the OP? Or subsequent posts that are related to the OP?

 

[bripat9643]

Bribery and Extortion.

The writer is on the correct track.

Don't pretend you read the book, Fakey. We know they don't allow such reading materials in the nursing home.

Hi Bripat. Please take any quarrel you have with other members to some other thread. I really REALLY would like to discuss the topic in this one.

What is your impression of the OP? Or subsequent posts that are related to the OP?

I'm in the process of reading the book now. After reading it you can't help but be impressed at how utterly lacing in patriotism, honesty or any kind of principle a Congressman is. that includes Republicans. These people knowingly sell their country down the river on a daily basis solely so they can retain a position of power over others. I have more respect for professional criminals than for any member of Congress.

 

[Foxfyre]

Don't pretend you read the book, Fakey. We know they don't allow such reading materials in the nursing home.

Hi Bripat. Please take any quarrel you have with other members to some other thread. I really REALLY would like to discuss the topic in this one.

What is your impression of the OP? Or subsequent posts that are related to the OP?

I'm in the process of reading the book now. After reading it you can't help but be impressed at how utterly lacing in patriotism, honesty or any kind of principle a Congressman is. that includes Republicans. These people knowingly sell their country down the river on a daily basis solely so they can retain a position of power over others. I have more respect for professional criminals than for any member of Congress.

Yes. It came up as a daily deal for me on Kindle and therefore was cheap so I bought it. Really REALLY interesting read. And, as one who wants to think the best of our elected leaders, at least those on our side, I found myself bristling a bit as he took on this person or that person that I want to admire. Then I sat back and thought about it and what he was talking about made perfectly good sense. And I had to admit, that I--a person who is totally jaded and a pure skeptic when it comes to political commentary--was sensing that there is a real core of truth in what Sweizer is saying. And maybe I shouldn't be so reluctant to believe it.

 

[Foxfyre]

Still excerpting from Chapter 2:

You pay money at a tollbooth in order to use a road or bridge. The methodology in Washington is similar. If someone wants a bill passed, charge them money to allow the bill to move down the legislative highway.

Of course, politicians don't explicitly say this. An explicit qud pro quo, getting favors in exchange for holding a vote, would violate federal law. But as an unspoken tool of extraction, the tollbooth method is very powerful. Everyone on the inside pretty much knows what is going on. . .

. . . Imagine for a minute that an important bill has passed out of committee, but not yet been scheduled for a vote on the House floor. You wait and wait. Then suddenly you and your colleagues are solicited for donations by a fund raiser who works for the politician who gets to decide whether a vote will be held. What will you do?. . . .​

How much different perspective does this pose for those of you/us who have been convinced that 'corporate welfare' or bribing politicians has been a major source of corruption? Does this change your mind in any way?

 

[MACAULAY]

So, if you are a Socialist, you see big business constantly bribing politicians, Republicans mostly.

And if you are a Jeffersonian, you see an overreaching Federal government that shakes you down like the Mob sells insurance.

Same facts...different perspective...that's been going on since the Cavaliers and Roundheads...at least...actually likely goes back the The Braveheart's disgust with Government in London.

Seems worse today though. Fox, yes it was Fox, just did a show on how the Obama administration treats Conservatives who have been too loud in expressing their rights. What Obamites do to them through the IRS, EPA, FBI and even the ATF.

It will send chills up your spine.

 

[boedicca]

The Eunuchs in an Ancient Chinese Emperor's court would have envied the ability of U.S. politicians to milk the Treasury for their personal gain.

 

[Foxfyre]

So, if you are a Socialist, you see big business constantly bribing politicians, Republicans mostly.

And if you are a Jeffersonian, you see an overreaching Federal government that shakes you down like the Mob sells insurance.

Same facts...different perspective...that's been going on since the Cavaliers and Roundheads...at least...actually likely goes back the The Braveheart's disgust with Government in London.

Seems worse today though. Fox, yes it was Fox, just did a show on how the Obama administration treats Conservatives who have been too loud in expressing their rights. What Obamites do to them through the IRS, EPA, FBI and even the ATF.

It will send chills up your spine.

It isn't so much perspective, I think MACAULAY, but a matter of reality. How did it happen or was it the chicken first or the egg? Did politicians learn to profit from government via bribes from industry? Or did extortion by politicians inform industry of how the system would be profitable to them? Does it matter?

For sure if Jeffersonian values had been faithfuly implemented in government, the culture of corruption would never have developed. But it did develop and began, or at least became noticable, in the T. Roosevelt administration and has escalated since then.

And now we have what Schewizer calls a "Permanent Political Class" that uses the system to keep itself in power and it exists for no other purpose than to increase its own power, prestige, influence, and personal wealth.

 

[Foxfyre]

Going to bump this thread one more time to see if it will generate any interest.

THE QUESTION:

Do you believe corporations and rich people BRIBE government to do their bidding?

Or do you believe Schweizer's observation that it is almost always those in government EXTORTING money from corporations and rich people?

 

[Foxfyre]

Schwiezer's concept is that those in government:

1. Hold up legislation important to people until they are paid to pass it - and/or

2. Threaten to pass legislation unfavorable to people unless they are paid to deep six it - and/or

3. Refuse to do their necessary jobs until they are paid extra to do them.

Feasible? Crock of baloney? Are you sure?

 

[g5000]

The author is right. He is saying exactly what I have been saying for some time. If you remove the reason to bribe someone, you remove the bribe.

We have given our politicians way too much power over our lives. For example, the ability to provide tax deductions, credits, and exemptions. The ability to provide subsidies.

If we banned politicians from being able to provide tax deductiions, credits, exemptions, and subsidies, then special interests would have no incentive to bribe our politicians to give them tax deduction, credits, exemptions, or subsidies.

See how that works?

The idiots who are trying to stop money from flowing into the coffers of our politicians can't see the forest for the trees.

Likewise with regulations. As we have continually moved toward ever more concentration of power at the federal level, we have made it simpler and simpler for special interests to capture that power. It is far easier to capture a single federal regulatory body or a single federal legislative body than it is to capture 50 such bodies.

When, oh when, will the mad lovers of federal power ever learn? They concentrate all power at the top and then scream and stomp when it is captured, never realizing they are the ones who made it possible to begin with!


Now with Obamacare, we have opened a whole new four lane highway to corruption. We have made our politicians the gatekeepers to a massive part of our economy. "You want to get listed on a health insurance exchange? Fuck you, PAY ME!"