Texas Ethics

/in /by

Texas Ethics

Isaac Diego

POLS 2306-96L

November 26, 2019

Texas Ethics

People in Texas have strong values and beliefs. Right from childhood, people are taught how to behave in an ethical way. From a very young age, the character is moulded ((molded?)) such that when they are old the values and beliefs instilled in them does not fade away. The values and beliefs imparted in people do not in any way allow them to indulge in any unethical practices. Thus the values and beliefs of people affect how they make their decision. Political and governance decisions are always grounded on beliefs and value systems. These values are likely to affect policies that will affect Texans including education, health, judicial system and even infrastructure.

The most ethical problem facing Texas is corruption. Many people are engaging in ((Is your statement on the corruption too sweeping. “”Many people” may be too broad. corrupt activities. Corruption is more prevalent in people who hold high position in government offices. Public corruption is so common in Texas. Just about every public official is facing a criminal charge. In February, the FBI organised a raid in part of Texas. During the ((In what municipality was this raid conducted?)) raid, the mayor, three members of the city council and the city manager were all accused of engaging in corrupt activities (Greenblatt, 2016). They were all found guilty by the FBI of being part of a bribery scheme and a conspiracy arrangement. Most of these officials take bribes to allow corrupt activities in Texas including running of illegal gambling activities.

Previously before the raid, a member of the city council was found guilty and charges were pressed on him on the ground of human trafficking. Out of all the members of the city council only one member is not facing any criminal charges. It seems that corruption is so predominant in the Texas that no one is governing the city right. Bribery is on the rise every single day. The city council is the most affected. City council officials take bribes and are helping to promote illegal gambling schemes in Texas (Board, 2019). City council officials are going to the extent if offering an enormous salary to the city attorney general who is inexperienced. ((I don’t believe that you have identified the municipality where the city council is located.))

The same kind of corruption that is being experienced in Texas is now being felt by the whole country. Corruption is affecting the entire country. People are being affected in getting crucial work done. Statistics show that nearly a quarter of the Americans are convinced that their public officials are engaging in corrupt activities. In the recent years, ((Good use of the material.)) many politicians in Oregon, Alabama and New York have either been accused or convicted of corruption. Corruption is being felt in the country as a result of loop holes in enforcement of legislation and lack of transparency in procurement processes. The end result of these is unspent public funds, failure in delivery of public services. The courts too have been affected with individuals and companies donating funds to judges running for positions and thus may be partially biased despite the Citizen United ruling (Ornstein, 2015).

Corruption is more prevalent in the police force. In 2018, a police officer in Philadelphia was convicted and pleaded guilty to the crime of drug trafficking. The crime by the police officers is considered one of the worst cases in the United States corruption scandals. The prosecutors of the case stated that the crime was a case of abuse of power. Officers in Baltimore seized drugs from a drug trafficker. The drugs were then redistributed in the streets of Philadelphia by the police officer. This is one among many cases of corruption that face several police officers in the United States.

Fraud, bribery and abuse of power in the police department are among the leading causes of corruption. Masked corrupt police officers are known to be drug lords and ring leaders. Most of the officers are gang leaders and notorious drug dealers. Drug trafficking is an easy channel that most police officers are using to make good money. Once the police officers cease drugs from drug dealers, instead of confiscating the drugs, they end up redistributing the drugs and selling them in the streets.

((Do you have proposal on how to reduce corruption in the Texas government system?))References

Board, E. (2019, February 21). This is a tale of nepotism and corruption at the top of Texas government. Retrieved from https://www.caller.com/story/opinion/2019/02/21/tale-nepotism-corruption-top-texas-government/2929548002/.

Greenblatt, A. (2016, May) Why Is Public Corruption So Common in South Texas? Retrieved from https://www.governing.com/topics/politics/gov-public-corruption-crystal-city-texas.html.

Ornstein, N. (2014, October 16). Courting Corruption: How Judicial Elections Threaten the Justice System. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/10/courting-corruption-the-auctioning-of-the-judicial-system/381524/.