Bribery

Lobby and Bribery

Marcus McClain

Lobbying, in general, refers to the act of trying to influence members of a legislative

body to vote in favor of the ‘lobbyist’. In some governments, ‘lobbyists’ have formally

recognized groups, whose interests are ‘lobbied’ for, that may be wholly or partially

funded by organizations, or even nations. On a softer side, lobbying may just involve

political support offered in return for political influence, or action. Lobbying that is

legalized by a government does not involve financial support.

Bribery, on the other hand, involves offering money in return for political action or

influence. Often this bribery comes in cash form, without involving bank transactions,

and this is one of the reasons many lobbyists have been accused of bribery. Therefore,

bribery is when money contributions are made to a political group in expectation of

being favored in political or legislative decisions. Priorities and decisions of legislators,

governors, councilmen and the President alike, are defined by money handouts by lobbyists.

At times, there seems to be just a fine line between the two. Lobbyists have become very

aggressive in pushing for their agendas, and this has led many to think that their practices

have become unacceptable, as it unfairly swings the political landscape in favor of the

rich and the big corporations that can use their monetary influence. Definitely, this kind

of system has major drawbacks, since the concerns of the ‘common man’ will not matter

if they are contrary to the interests of the big businesses. Some business leaders have

such a grip on the avenues to power, that the gap between the businesses and the file and

rank (who are the customers) is very wide.

Precisely put, bribery is when a business, individual or a group of individuals, offer cash

or property in exchange for a specific influence in their favor. For instance, when a

legislator tells his...