Many members of Congress have created charitable foundations that do badly needed work for the communities they represent. Making a large contribution to one of these foundations can put a donor into the good graces of the respective lawmaker who created that particular foundation. This raises a interesting question. While there is no dispute that these politician sponsored foundations have done important work; do the actual donations themselves constitute some kind of payoff to the lawmaker? Since the donation does not go directly to the legislator, some might argue that this in not a form of bribery. Still others might argue that when a foundation's charitable work benefits large segments of a lawmaker's district; he/she then benefits indirectly by gaining loyal voters who appreciate the work of his/her foundation. Will a corporation giving a large contribution to a lawmaker's charitable foundation expect something in return when a critical issue is decided before Congress? These charitable donations are far in excess of what would be permitted under campaign finance regulation, but so far both the Senate and the House have exempted them from any kind of oversight.
What do you think? Is this bribery at its worst, or charity at its best? Does it matter?
Source:
nytimes.com
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