Corrupt Cops on Coz?

[Potapko]

Someone once said,
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely!

Living for 3 years in Eastern Europe was indeed an eye opener. Well, at first. Then I compared the corruption. There officials take bribes and everybody knows it. It is considered in some places to be part of the salary "package" Here in the states we allow lobbyists (sp) to "contribute" up to a specific figure and still be within the law. Which is more corrupt? Both are buying influence.

A friend of mine works in the Ukraine and lives in the Czech Republic. The border guards will ask, "how much money do you have on you today?" "What did you bring me this week?" If people do not cough something up you may sit at the border for 8 hours before being allowed to pass. This man's company pays in advance
That way he can go to the front of the line and not be held up. Literally!


One day, things will change,
Even so, come Lord Jesus!
DP

 

[ggunn]

Someone once said,
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely!

Living for 3 years in Eastern Europe was indeed an eye opener. Well, at first. Then I compared the corruption. There officials take bribes and everybody knows it. It is considered in some places to be part of the salary "package" Here in the states we allow lobbyists (sp) to "contribute" up to a specific figure and still be within the law. Which is more corrupt? Both are buying influence.

A friend of mine works in the Ukraine and lives in the Czech Republic. The border guards will ask, "how much money do you have on you today?" "What did you bring me this week?" If people do not cough something up you may sit at the border for 8 hours before being allowed to pass. This man's company pays in advance
That way he can go to the front of the line and not be held up. Literally!

The latest thing here in Austin is the establishment of toll roads, where an elite commission (CAMPO) has blocked out sections of EXISTING (paid for with our taxes) roadways and will begin charging 50 cents / mile to drive on them. Soon the virtually only road that goes where I work will cost me $7.50 / day to travel on it (never mind that I have been driving it for free for 10 years). Do the math; that will cost me upwards of $1500 per year. Look up "highway robbery"...

The commission which has set these policies are APPOINTED thugs with no oversight and no accountability. When they are done, some 50+ miles of new and existing roads (which include all the main thoroughfares in the area, excepting only the interstate highway) will cost 50 cents / mile to drive on. When they have had meetings to "discuss" their policies and "listen to the public", literally thousands of enraged citizens show up to protest (virtually no one supports them), but they just smile smugly and do whatever the hell they want, which is to ram their grubby hands deep into the pockets of everyone who lives around here.

The State Comptroller has produced evidence as to how some of these guys are personally profiting from their policies (personally I think they will all be very rich men soon), but, as I said, they have no oversight, cannot be voted out, and there is no provision for referendum against what they do. To mix metaphors, they are sitting in the catbird seat with the city in a stranglehold.

So anyway, I really am not worried about a few penny-ante corrupt cops around Cozumel; we have a lot worse right here in the good ol' USA. My apologies for the marginally OT rant.