Do politicians become rich in your city/country?

Udet · 03-07-2007, 08:21 PM

It would be interesting to know what you can tell about the politicians in your town, city and/or country.

Do those individuals that are elected by voters proceed ahead to make "businesses" once in office, taking full advatange of their position and all sorts of privileged information to become millionaires?

Can it happen that some guy that is flat broke, his whole family included, runs for president/governor/ruler, gets elected by voters, then becomes capable of "reversing" his financial/economic fortune while in office? Can sometimes his personal friends get invited to join the economic feast?

Before being elected he lived in some "ordinary" house or flat, had "ordinary" cars...but oh! overnight he becomes the "fruitful" owner of businesses, acquiring mansions and real estate, and expensive cars....

I do understand this situation do happens -100% common practice- in those countries classified/tagged as "third-wolrd" or "developing". The bulk of african and asian nations, latin america, and eastern europe. (Just take a fast look at those so-called "New Russians" or rich-russians to have a clearer understanding of what i am referring to).

But can this happen in those so called "First-World" type of nations? Are rulers and government officials subjected to close scrutiny by the people during their periods in office?

What could happen to a ruler or government official of a "First-World" country if it is discovered he became rich while in office?

I have the most profound loathing and severe disrespect for politicians; i feel absolutely no sympathies for them, their families and friends, it is just that i´d like to know what your opinions on the matter are.

AAA_leadsled · 03-07-2007, 09:03 PM

I agree it does seem to work that way, in fact it seems the "Ruling Class" is always well to do. Take it one step further, how is it they seem to live in their own world, legislate laws for the masses but seem to have no clue what "normal" people are, or the world we live in. I feel that the Congress we have now is the sorriest excuse, they seem to spend all their time getting elected, while ignoring the most important issues.... I am no genius or rocket scientist but I am totally fed up with our current elected Congress, President, etc.. I have alot more faith in our local politicians, they seem to be more in touch with their constituents. Ahhh but what can we do?

DerAdlerIstGelandet · 03-08-2007, 06:41 AM

I think it is common practice for politicians period to do that, no matter where they are from.

Udet · 03-08-2007, 11:09 AM

Adler:

Even in Germany?

DerAdlerIstGelandet · 03-08-2007, 01:57 PM

Ofcourse my friend. A politician is a politician is a politician...

FLYBOYJ · 03-08-2007, 02:15 PM

We've had similar conversations on this...

I think term limits will solve some of this - many of these folks thrive off the power rather than accepting the duty of working for the people. Check this out, my favorite American family....

jpk.htm

Erich · 03-08-2007, 03:04 PM

they are all a bunch of crooks, looking better with a Doberman Pincer on their back(s). I just can't wait for the 2008 elections and the slime that is going to run . . . .......... ..... ........ ...

Udet · 03-09-2007, 02:39 PM

Flyboy, had we? Sorry, i did not recall.

These world of politics is not very known to me; i dislike it by the way, but as i grow up i of course learn a bit about it.

I am amazed to read your comments Adler.

Although i do understand politicians are politicians, i was of the belief the politicians in "First-World" countries come under close scrutiny while in office or during their terms.

First-World nations give their people access to public information, for example, how taxes are used.

I do recall an exercise carried out by a Mexico City newspaper when i was living there:

A journalist called the office of the mexico city governor to request information regarding specific expenditures -that are made using the money of taxpayers-:

Cost of bodyguards of government officials;
Cost of cellphone services of government officials;
Cost of ticket planes, fuel, accomodation, restaurants -you know, as soon as they are in office those punks suddenly feel and behave as if they had been born in Mount Olympus, surrounded and blessed by the Gods of the Pantheon - etc.

The request was denied, dismissed off hand by the mexico city government, arguing ridiculous things like "classified information" (!!!!).

In contrast, the same journalist called the government in the state of Texas, requesting exactly the same information, denied by mexico city´s government.

THE TEXAN GOVERNMENT PROVIDED THE JOURNALIST WITH EVERY INFORMATION AND DATA REQUESTED -in less than one day-. Period.

A brutal difference.

Theoretically, a politician, say, in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland or Sweden is addressing a populace that is educated; compare this fact with the type of people addressed by politicians in Africa, Latin America and most Asian nations.

A crook (Politician) can say whatever type of wild promises and speeches to the people in Africa, Latin America and Asia, where huge numbers of people are iliterate and for the most part poorly educated.

It is sad to discover they too become rich in first world countries.

FLYBOYJ · 03-09-2007, 02:41 PM

Udet check out this guy...

BOSTON - As a candidate, Deval Patrick won over voters with a message of hope and renewed confidence in government. Now, eight turbulent weeks into his term, Massachusetts' first black governor is already pleading: "Don't give up on me."

First, the 50-year-old former chief of the Justice Department's civil rights division under the Clinton administration was criticized for using a state helicopter to zip from one end of the state to the other. Then he found himself defending his decision to upgrade his state car to a $1,166-a-month Cadillac.

Soon came news of pricey new drapes for the governor's office, a $72,000 appointments secretary for his wife and a call to Citigroup on behalf of a struggling lending company on whose board he once served — a move that prompted a call for an ethics investigation by the Republicans.

Patrick loyalists have portrayed the incidents as the kind of missteps made by someone who has never before held elective office. But they also fear that, taken together, the blunders could hurt the Democrat's populist appeal and erode his authority.

When he took office, "the canvas was blank. What we saw was a first portrait of a governor who was stumbling, rather than a governor moving forward," said Jeffrey Berry, a Tufts University political science professor. "There's a tone-deafness that continues to hamper the governor."

During his rise, Patrick combined soaring rhetoric — he repeatedly said he wanted people who had checked out of politics "to check back in" — with dramatic imagery, including taking the oath of office with his hand on a Bible that was given to John Quincy Adams by freed slaves from the ship Amistad.

Critics point to his use of a State Police helicopter as his first blunder. Former acting Gov. Jane Swift was heavily criticized for using the helicopter to beat Thanksgiving traffic to her home in the Berkshire Mountains in 1999. Patrick twice used the chopper, once to return to the Statehouse after attending the funeral of a soldier killed in Iraq.

The criticism mounted after Patrick upgraded his official car from a Ford Crown Victoria, which was leased for $623 per month, to the Cadillac. He later agreed to reimburse the state the $543 monthly difference, as well as $27,387 for the new furnishings in his office, including the $12,300 drapes. But he defended his decision to hire a staff member to handle scheduling and interview requests for his wife.

Particularly grating to critics was the impression that Patrick was splurging on luxuries even as he was warning of a $1.3 billion deficit and asking state agencies to trim spending.

Perhaps the biggest blunder was Patrick's decision to call Citigroup executive Robert Rubin on Feb. 20 of behalf of ACC Capital Holdings while ACC sought an infusion of cash from Citigroup. Patrick had served on ACC's board but resigned the $360,000-a-year post during the campaign. ACC is the parent of Ameriquest, a mortgage company that has been accused of predatory lending practices.

Patrick initially defended the call, saying he was acting as a private citizen, but then conceded that as governor, the line between his private and official lives had disappeared.

The governor sounded alternately defensive and chastened as the disclosures mounted.

He brushed aside reporters' questions about the helicopter rides, saying: "You should call that family from Hyannis that lost their son in Iraq and see if they have a problem with me using the helicopter." He quickly added, "I have a really crowded calendar and a very ambitious agenda, so I'm going to use every resource available."

When an Associated Press reporter pressed him on the Cadillac, he first said: "You should take a ride in it. It's nice." Later, in an attempt to get beyond the criticism of the car, the drapes and his wife's assistant, he conceded "we really screwed up," and said he needed the media to move on to more important issues.

And this week, after the phone call story broke, he said: "I will make mistakes, but don't give up on me, because I don't intend to give up on Massachusetts."

The miscues are testing the faith of Patrick's most ardent backers.

"I'm amazed and appalled that Patrick didn't just say, `Sorry, I can't make that call. I'm governor now,'" Charley Blandy, co-founder of Blue Mass. Group, a leading liberal blog that supported Patrick during the campaign, wrote this week. "The Caddy didn't matter. The drapes don't matter. This matters."

Udet · 03-09-2007, 02:48 PM

FLYBOY, thanks. I hope either the press or the people puts utmost unbearable pressure on that thug.

They are pretty much the same here and there...it´s upsetting.

Matt308 · 03-09-2007, 03:22 PM

And Nancy Pelosi and her rejection of the use of a Gulfstream IV as her personal jet. Instead she demanded a military version of the 737-800 (C-40) to fly around her personal posse'.

DerAdlerIstGelandet · 03-11-2007, 08:04 AM

What the ****. She wastes more money with that damn 737. She is a bitch isn't she.

Udet · 03-11-2007, 12:55 PM

Adler: do you kno what the monthly salary of the major of your city is?

Does anyone know what the monthly salary of the president of the U.S.?

FLYBOYJ · 03-11-2007, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Udet

Adler: do you kno what the monthly salary of the major of your city is?

Does anyone know what the monthly salary of the president of the U.S.?

The Mayor vries depending on the size of the city - the Pres makes about $400,000.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0875856.html

DerAdlerIstGelandet · 03-11-2007, 01:43 PM

No Udet I do not know what the mayors make. I am sure the mayor of my small town does not make anything at all, being we have only 3000 people that live in my town. Now Nurnberg which has several hundred thousand people living in it and Ansbach which has about 50,000 people living in are just down the road from where I live. The mayors there might earn something.