Rantburg

Today's Front Page   View All of Wed 05/28/2025 View Tue 05/27/2025 View Mon 05/26/2025 View Sun 05/25/2025 View Sat 05/24/2025 View Fri 05/23/2025 View Thu 05/22/2025
2025-02-05 Government Corruption
Bribery is rampant in the U.S. government and military—but it’s also legal
[X]
John Ʌ Konrad V
@johnkonrad
Fact: Bribery is rampant in the U.S. government and military—but it’s also legal.

To understand what’s going on at USAID you must understand how bribery works in America today.

Here’s how to legally bribe a 4-star US Army General:

American bribery operates differently than the classic cash-in-a-suitcase (or bitcoin today!) model still used in most other countries. It relies on trust, time, and reputation—making it nearly impossible to prosecute.

Example 1: Bribing a General in Africa

A corrupt general in Africa demands $2 million cash (or gold or BYT) up front. Why? Because if you don’t pay later, he has no way to enforce the deal.

Example 2: Bribing a U.S. General (Legally)

If you’re a defense contractor in the U.S., you play the long game:
1.Invite the general into a secure, private meeting.
2.Thank him for his “dedicated support” on a project “for the American people.”
3.Wink.
4.Casually mention that a board seat might open up at your company—about five years after he retires.
5.Tell him to call you in ten years to “help find good candidates.”

Fast forward five years: Boom. He lands that board seat. It pays $500,000 per year for five years. Congratulations—he just pocketed $2.5 million, plus interest.

The Board Seat Shuffle

This gets even better. Say Widgets Inc. lands a huge contract thanks to General Smith, and Cogs Inc. gets another big deal thanks to Admiral Jones.

Instead of directly paying them off, Widgets Inc. gives a cushy board seat to Admiral Jones. Cogs Inc. returns the favor by hiring General Smith.

No money exchanged while they were in uniform. No laws broken.

The Enforcement Mechanism: Reputation

But what if Cogs Inc. fails to pay Admiral Jones?

Simple: Reputation kills them.

Word spreads fast in the high-trust world of defense contracting. Generals and admirals still in uniform hear the whispers. Suddenly, Cogs Inc. starts losing contracts.

Example 3: USAID

Want to bribe a Congressman? Here’s how the game works. First, get them to steer a juicy contract your way. Take some of that money and set up a nonprofit—nothing flashy, just enough to move funds around. A few years after they’re voted out, suddenly there’s a cushy board seat waiting for them. In the meantime, have them use their connections to secure a USAID grant for the next wave of Congressmen or staffers. Rinse and repeat to expand the ponzi scheme and just like that, you’ve built a self-sustaining influence machine.

The lesson?

The bribe is exactly the same as a cash payoff—it’s just delayed, sanitized, and hidden behind a veil of “corporate best practices.”

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how government bribery legally thrives in America.

If this goes viral I might post 2/2 an even more ingenious bribery system: How China Bribes A Foreign General


Posted by 3dc 2025-02-05 04:05|| || Front Page|| [11138 views ]  Top
 File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats 

#1 Who needs USAid.
Posted by Skidmark 2025-02-05 07:07||   2025-02-05 07:07|| Front Page Top

#2 So you're saying Pelosi was being relatively honest by just doing insider trading?
Posted by Mercutio 2025-02-05 09:41||   2025-02-05 09:41|| Front Page Top

#3 Cheating, fair & square, all legal-like
Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2025-02-05 12:44||   2025-02-05 12:44|| Front Page Top

09:27 Warthog
09:11 Mercutio
09:07 AlmostAnonymous5839
08:52 Matt
08:24 Matt
08:20 SteveS
07:43 Procopius2k
07:42 BrerRabbit
07:42 Procopius2k
07:39 Procopius2k
07:36 Procopius2k
07:35 Procopius2k
07:34 trailing wife
07:31 Procopius2k
07:30 NN2N1
07:22 NN2N1
07:18 trailing wife
07:14 Richard Aubrey
07:10 NN2N1
07:09 Besoeker
07:03 NN2N1
06:58 NN2N1
06:58 Besoeker
05:28 Whiskey Mike









Paypal:
Google
Search WWW Search rantburg.com