P. J. O'Rourke Quotes
When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators.
O'Rourke, P. J. Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government. Atlantic Monthly Press, 1991.
Mises is one of the very few economic conservatives who opposed companies getting involved with lobbying or politics in any way. He, like some others, saw the negative public effect that business produces when it does get deeply involved in politics, but he uniquely observed that the businesses themselves suffered as a result of the involvement in politics. Obviously very few business leaders of the 21st century agreed with Mises’ earlier views.
As a candidate for the Republican Presidential Nomination, Trump was very forthright about the fact that when he was a business tycoon, he gave money to many politicians not for any ideological reasons but he considered the money an investment which paid off handsomely. Almost all large campaign donors believe that they are making an investment and most have continued to be satisfied with the results so they continue to donate. See {583282} as an example of Trump's candid view.
He is not referring to campaign contributions but to actual cash bribes. Corporations and industry groups pay cash or provide goods and services to a politician in exchange for legislation favorable to the company or industry. Although his generalization about state officials being the most corrupt is generally probably correct, his state—Kentucky—is and has been one of the most corrupt in the country. See {623532} .
While New York City and a few other jurisdictions—states and local—have more stringent laws and ethical standards for politicians than does Congress and Federal Officials, but most have lower standards. In some of the jurisdictions judges can try cases and rule in favor of a company or wealthy individual who gave the judge the money to campaign with and get elected.
Patrick Jake O'Rourke is an American political satirist and journalist. O'Rourke is the H. L. Mencken Research Fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute and is a regular correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, The American Spectator, and The Weekly Standard, and frequent panelist on National Public Radio's game show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! Since 2011, he has been a columnist at The Daily Beast.
