Background[]
- The concept of Pay to play, in essence, is a form of bribery.
- Political landscape may include various acts and forms of bribery.
Insights[]
Bribery is the practice of offering a professional money or other favours in order to circumvent ethics. It is a form of corruption and is generally illegal, or at least cause for penalties from professional organizations.
- Global examples of bribery that may or may not occur in Pittsburgh: a motorist may bribe a police officer not to issue a ticket for speeding, a citizen seeking paperwork or utility line connections may bribe a functionary for faster service, a construction company may bribe a civil servant to award a contract, or a narcotics smuggler may bribe a judge to lessen criminal penalties.
Often, the briber holds a powerful role and controls the transaction. This is where we must worry as the Mayor has a powerful role in many decisions. As these decisions occur behind closed doors, such as in the awarding of consultant contracts, then alarms should ring.
The level of non-monetary favours that constitute an incentive to unethical behaviour is variable and may constitute a matter of opinion in a given field.
Smoothing bureaucracy[]
A grey area may exist when payments to smooth transactions are made. United States law is particularly strict in limiting the ability of businesses to pay for the awarding of contracts, but allows for facilitation payments. In some countries, this practice is the norm — often resulting from a developing nation not having the tax structure to pay civil servants an adequate salary. Nevertheless, most economists regard bribery as a bad thing because it encourages rent seeking behaviour. A state where bribery has become a way of life is a kleptocracy.
Law[]
In legal situations, lawyers, judges, and others with power may be subject to bribery or payoff for making a decision that benefits someone willing to pay for favours.
Politics[]
Politicians receive campaign contributions and other payoff from powerful corporations when making choices in the interests of those corporations, or in anticipation of favorable policy.
Other insights beyond bribery are influence peddling, conflict of interest and ethics.
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Media[]
- Legislation would limit city campaign contributions P-G article on Dec. 7, 2004, as bill is introduced.
- City Council Consultants, from Post-Gazette in May, 2006