Growing up in India, I was well aware of bribes and bribery required to move a file, get a license or have a record expunged. There are several euphemisms for bribery such as greasing the palms, under the table payments, convenience fees and more.
The bigger the favor, the bigger the bribe. It was accepted as a way of life - the cost of doing business.
I remember a famous poet once wrote "Rishvat leta pakda jaaye toh rishvat deke chhoot" meaning if you get caught accepting a bribe, bribe your way to get out.
There are lots of movies focusing on the theme, some serious, mostly hilarious.
If you don't have the money, you better have connections.
That is why coming to the US was so refreshing. I received my fair share of traffic violations, but no cop ever suggested that I could bribe my way out. Getting/renewing a license is a straightforward process. It may be frustrating and time-consuming, but it is not corrupt. When we applied to renew our passports, we paid fees to expedite them. But they were upfront and exact.
This works in two ways. Firstly, I feel confident that I am treated fairly. Secondly, I know that if I mess up, I cannot bribe my way out.
Of course there is corruption in the US. There are corrupt politicians and dirty cops. It is just not as pervasive. And when folks get caught, they are punished. They cannot bribe their way out. Until now.
Two recent decisions, in quick succession, have shaken my faith in the American legal system.
1. You can read the complete article here - The US supreme court just basically legalized bribery, Moira Donegan but here is the gist of it.
In 2013, James Snyder was serving as the mayor of small-town Portage, Indiana. Late that year, the city of Portage awarded a contract to Great Lakes Peterbilt, a trucking company, and bought five tow trucks from them; a few weeks later, Snyder asked for and accepted a check for $13,000 from the company. Snyder was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to 21 months in federal prison. He argued that the kickback was not illegal because it came after he awarded a contract to the company that ultimately paid him off, not before. Absurdly the US supreme court agreed, classifying such payments as mere tokens of appreciation and claiming they are not illegal.
The ruling authored by Kavanaugh in Snyder v United States, a 6-3 opinion, held that “gratuities” – that is, post-facto gifts and payments – are not technically “bribes”, and therefore not illegal.
It is not a coincidence that the court has chosen to legalize for state and local officials exactly the sort of corruption that they openly enjoy.
There are no awards for guessing which six justices voted in favor of corruption and influence peddling. It is no coincidence that the Republican-appointed justices painstakingly point out the difference between bribes and gratuities, so as to benefit themselves and those who put them in positions of power.
These exact same justices also painstakingly distinguished between bumpstocks and automatic guns so as to favor the gun lobby. Why? I guess because more Americans need to die from gun violence and quickly so.
2. The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled that a former president has absolute immunity for his core constitutional powers — and is entitled to a presumption of immunity for his official acts.
In short, it means that the president has infinite power and very little accountability. The president can not only commit crimes, but also enjoy almost complete immunity from legal prosecution.
According to Sonia Sotomayor's dissenting opinion, "The relationship between the President and the people he serves has shifted irrevocably. In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law."
Goodbye Democracy. Hail to the King. Please note that it is the very same Republican-appointed, right leaning, corruption-peddling, gun-lobby sympathetic justices who ruled in favor of dictatorship over democracy.
What does this mean? Well I am no political pundit or a legal scholar. But two things are clear even to me.
1. The current President (thanks to this SCOTUS ruling) has unlimited power. He has complete immunity to carry out official presidential acts which may be considered improper, illegal or outright heinous. What is good for the gander...
2. As citizens, we must be extremely careful of whom we choose in November. Our lives and freedoms (and those of our children and grandchildren) will depend on it.