Robert L. Woodson, Sr. Blog

Corruption Is Worst For Haiti And Other Low-Income Areas

 

The President of Haiti came to Washington to discuss how to help his earthquake-ravaged country. He was immediately met with questions about the history of corruption in his nation, which has been rated among the world’s most corrupt countries. How will Haiti assure donors that the world’s outpouring of compassion will be used for genuine long-term recovery efforts? He is reported as having no answers.

It is ironic that the most corruption is found among politicians elected to serve the people in some of the poorest countries of the world and in the poorest areas of America. For example, in Detroit, one of the most troubled cities in the country, Councilwoman Monica Conyers just received 37 months in prison for bribery, nine other people have pleaded guilty, and the FBI is still investigating the corruption.

In Washington, DC’s disadvantaged Ward 8, former Mayor now Council Member Marion Barry reportedly gave $450,000 in earmarked grants to six non-profit organizations that according to an investigatory report "were conceived by Barry and implemented at his direction” by a staffer. Some of the organizations’ papers were forged, the report said.

Former Rep. William Jefferson, who represented the area where Katrina created devastation, was found guilty Aug. 6 on 11 charges, including soliciting bribes, depriving citizens of honest service, money laundering and using his office as a racketeering enterprise. Instead of putting time and energies to devoting to the Katrina rescue effort, he was stuffing his refrigerator with bribe money.

Rep. Charles Rangel is the subject of several ongoing ethics investigations, including one that concluded he broke House gift-ban rules by taking corporate-sponsored Caribbean junkets in 2007 and 2008. Ethics investigators also are probing Rangel for not paying taxes on rental income from a villa in the Dominican Republic, not disclosing more than $500,000 in assets on financial disclosure forms, and an alleged sweetheart deal in which he leased four rent-stabilized Lenox Terrace apartments in Harlem.

These offenses do not provoke the kind of outrage that they should. When white officials like Eliot Spitzer and others engage in illegal or unethical behavior, we expect whites and others to express outrage, distance themselves, and demand accountability. But when many black politicians engage in unethical behavior that is hostile to interests of poor constituents, there is relative silence in the community. Why the difference in response? Is race becoming a shield against corrupt and irresponsible behavior to the detriment of poor blacks?

The poorer the community, the higher should be the ethical standards of service.

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Posted 29 May | 0 Comments