November 2024 Part 8: How to choose politicians who are least corrupt
Corruption and bribery arise from human selfish desires. When you are elected and become a politician, you are in a position to decide policies and make decisions that move huge amounts of government money. Some politicians abuse their power and engage in corruption for their own selfish desires.
Everyone has their own selfish desires. However, it is not acceptable for those who are elected by voters as politicians and hold special positions to become corrupt and illicit for their own selfish desires. Voters must be able to discern what kind of people are likely to be corrupt, and avoid electing politicians who are prone to corruption. To do this, it is important to choose candidates who are the furthest away from corruption as politicians.
So what kind of candidates should we choose to prevent bribery and corruption?
1. Choose candidates who declare that they do not accept donations from special interest groups.
Politicians who receive donations from specific vested interest groups tend to make arrangements for those groups. Generally, politicians do not speak freely much about what groups they receive political donations from. However, some candidates state that they do not receive donations from vested interest groups. Choosing candidates who do not receive donations from vested interest groups as much as possible is an effective way to prevent graft and corruption caused by vested interest groups donated politicians.
2. Choose a candidate who vows to take a pay cut of himself/herself
Candidates who declare that they will cut their own salary can be considered to be less attached to money. Ideally, you want to choose a politician who works for the voters, not for their own money. If they are deliberately declaring that they will cut their own salary, you can expect them to be clean with money.
3. Choose a candidate whose number one policy goal is permanent tax cuts.
Cutting taxes reduces the budget even temporarily, and vested interests are reduced. If someone is calling for a permanent tax cut that would reduce vested interests, it is safe to assume that they are not willing to cling to those interests. The smaller the budget, the more difficult it becomes for corruption to take place. Candidates who make permanent tax cuts their first pledge are expected to be politicians who are the furthest away from corruption.
On the other hand, let's also think about candidates you should avoid.
1. Don't choose candidates who strongly advocate the introduction of subsidies
When a subsidy system is introduced that collects taxes and distributes them as subsidies, a vested interest structure is created and it easily becomes a breeding ground for corruption. If the government is going to collect taxes and distribute subsidies, it should not collect them in the first place. Perhaps the candidate is in collusion with the companies that benefit from the subsidies.
2. Do not choose candidates who strongly advocate the attraction of integrated resorts (IRs) and theme parks with casinos.
Attraction activities can easily become a breeding ground for corruption. In addition, it is unknown whether resorts and theme parks will be successful as businesses. In some cases, there is a risk that they will not make a profit and will continue to run at a loss.
3. Don't choose candidates who advocate policies that artificially favor foreign companies.
If a politician seems to be doing favors for foreign companies, he may be receiving money from them. We may need to be careful that politicians are not working for our country but for foreign countries.
If corruption and bribery are rampant, the public will no longer be able to trust politicians. People will not know what to believe, and rumors, hoax, conspiracy theories, or foreign propaganda will be more likely to spread. In order to prevent rumors, hoax, conspiracy theories, or foreign propaganda from spreading, politicians must first be honest and trusted by the public.
And above all, it is important that we, the voters, choose politicians who are the furthest away from graft and corruption.
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