I don't know why this story surprised me. There has always been a difference between the way the government treats normal citizens and the way politicians are treated. I guess this difference exists because when the one who is making your laws is arrested for breaking the law, he already knows the judge so he will get off easy. Charles B Rangle and Steven Rattner both broke the law, but both got a simple slap on the wrist instead of jail time. The story can be found here, but basically Rangle, a congressman, evaded taxes for 17 years and claimed he didn't know he had. Even though he is a congressman who helps with tax laws... Yet even though he did that he still didn't get removed from congress and all he got was a slap on the wrist. Yet normal people who evade taxes for much less time get federal jail time! Completely uneven punishment scale.
Rattner was a wall street financier who bribed New York State officials for 150 MILLION! Yet all he had to pay back was 6.2 million with a two year ban from the securities industry. Not a lifetime ban. A temporary ban. Are you kididng me? This is what our officials and the people who handle our money do? And yet no matter what they do they don't get punished like an average person. What if they were to murder someone? Would the legal system care then? Or would they accept some lame brain excuse? In my opinion stories like these matter because it shows the problems we have in our government AND legal system. The corruption is unreal.
I completely agree! I haven't been following this story too much but I'm glad that at least this happened to show corruption is real. The U.S is not really known for it corruption like most other countries (at least prob bc no one reports it much)However, I'm glad that this at least shows people the kind of people that are out there making the laws. it's not fair that they jsut slaps on the wrists but I guess that how money, power,and prob even more backroom deals work....
ReplyDeleteWow, no wonder so many people associate politics with corruption and scandal because things like this are always in the the news. Honestly, it just gives politicians a bad name because they are always portrayed negatively by the media. When it comes to this story you are right it isn't fair and it is a shame that this is how our society works. Its a shame that money and power really does rule the world.
ReplyDeleteThis kind of double standard destroys the public's faith in government. It's no wonder people have become so cynical and pessimistic about public affairs. The real casualty here is democracy itself.
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