Interesting read

[Bjornsdotter]

Bernie is mentioned in the article. This would be perfect for Schoolhouse Rock.

https://theprogressivecynic.com/2016/04/14/the-four-forms-of-legalized-political-corruption/

Frontloaded Corruption

While not in office, some politicians are given opportunities to profit off of a potential future position. This type of corruption can take many distinct forms, but the general pattern is that individuals who are seen as having a good chance of being elected/appointed to a position of power in the near future are given financial rewards by groups that would benefit from owning a politician. Here are a few examples of this:

An executive at a bank or oil company is awarded a huge severance package when they leave their firm to run for office—Halliburton gave Dick Cheney a $34 million severance package when he left the CEO position to serve as vice president.
A politician between offices is paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in “speaking fees” for giving short speeches to businesses and interest groups—Hillary Clinton made $2.9 million in speaking fees to big banks from 2013 to 2015 alone (this is just two years of speeches to one industry).

Because money is funneled to politicians before they have official power/status, they can avoid dealing with ethics laws or accusations of bribery. It is very hard to prove explicit corruption in these cases, because the bribes are based solely on the understanding that they will be paid back with favors once that politician wins office.

Campaign Finance Corruption

The most expensive and widespread form of political corruption in the US political system today is the reliance most politicians have on big-money donors. In the post-Citizens United political environment, corporations and wealthy individuals can donate millions of dollars to candidates and “uncoordinated” PACs. These funds are primarily used to pay for television advertising (80%), but are also used to pay for organizational efforts (e.g. get out to vote campaigns) and consulting services.

.......This type of corruption is arguably the hardest to deal with, as it has become endemic to our entire political system. Put simply, almost every politician has taken money from big interests and addressing this issue directly would require politicians to admit that they, and their party, have been complicit. Politicians like Bernie Sanders (D) and Buddy Roemer (R) who have refused to participate in this big money corruption are marginalized as unrealistic whenever they try address this issue, often by members of their own party who fear being held to account for their participation in this system.

[seekthetruth]

1. And so very sad to see people falling in line to support a Dem candidate who works and lives....

...in this environment.