Just like the old saying

I think it’s true, absolute power does corrupt absolutely.

Over the last few months, a story has been percolating about State Senator Ulysses Currie and his involvement with the Shoppers Food Warehouse grocery chain. The upshot is that he’s allegedly on their payroll but did not disclose that fact as required by state ethics laws.

Since Currie is a Democrat, obviously the Maryland Republican Party has some choice words about the situation. Here’s Maryland GOP Chair Jim Pelura, in a release titled “Pelura Renews Call For Currie To Step Down“:

Recent news disclosures indicate a wider investigation of Senator Ulysses Currie than previously thought and reveal interaction among other Democrat officials in Prince George’s County and throughout the state. Chairman Pelura responded to the news:

“In light of these recent revelations of influence peddling and ethics violations, the Maryland Republican Party strongly renews their call for Senator Ulysses Currie to resign his post as Chairman of the state’s power Budget & Taxation Committee while the investigation is ongoing,” Pelura said. “While Currie has not yet been charged with a federal crime, he has clearly violated state ethics laws by hiding his employment as a lobbyist for a large supermarket chain.”

“I also want to commend Senate President Mike Miller for following our lead in pushing for Senator Currie to stand down until this investigation is resolved,” continued Chairman Pelura.

In light of the litany of investigations and ethical lapses (Mayor Dixon, Senator Currie, County Executive Johnson, and Senator Nathaniel Exum), Chairman Pelura also recommended a serious review of Maryland’s ethics laws. “State lawmakers should be calling for committee hearings on ethics laws. Trust in government is vital and Marylanders need to be able to trust in their leaders,” concluded Pelura. “That is why the Maryland Republican Party is committed to supporting and electing candidates for the Governorship, General Assembly, and federal offices that embrace the concept of open, honest, and clean government.”

While Jim has done a fine job of tying all of these corruption cases together, he’s missing the main point. I’ve not pored through the entirety of the Maryland Code, but I’m certain that there’s a number of ethics laws already on the books which deal with disclosure. In what he’ll probably say was a “terrible lack of judgment” in his mea culpa, Currie has apparently chosen to flaunt the laws to maximize personal gain. SFW had to be aware of what Currie did for a living when they hired him, but it was Currie who is accused of not reporting the connection – when SFW needed something Currie provided.

The main business of Annapolis (and their larger cousin down the road, Washington D.C.) is lobbying. Between the two places, thousands of people buttonhole lawmakers daily, hired guns for whatever group has the money to give them for advocating their side of the issue. When Congress or the General Assembly is in session, you can have the business lobbyist in the office one hour and follow that up with the union’s hired hand moments later. They all demand a piece of the pie by wanting some amendment made or regulation tweaked to shift things in their favor – that’s why SFW paid Currie big bucks, because he was high up in the Budget and Taxation Committee.

But if you place less money in the hands of the government, there is less incentive for those lobbying groups to play their games. While Currie appears to be an unsavory character, there’s few who are unassailable when given the opportunity to be enriched through public service. The cynic in me simply thinks that some are more honest about their graft than others.

I guess what I’m attempting to argue here is that we wouldn’t need as many ethics laws if there was less to be unethical about. Take the coming boondoggle of the mortgage bailout – the only reason that it’s occurring is because this is an election year. The same goes for Senator Coburn being thrown under the omnibus by many of his fellow GOP Senators, as they abandon principles for enhanced re-election chances. In the meantime, how many lobbyists have earned their paychecks by enriching one group or another at taxpayer expense?

Years ago there was introduced a little foreign car called the Yugo. It was an awful car; however, the advertising tagline touted its no-frills, $3995 price and called it “the road back to sanity” compared to the sticker prices Detroit was charging at the time. I think the road back to sanity in our state and country has to start with shedding many of the frills and putting some of these lobbyists back into making an honest living. Perhaps Senator Currie could become the highest paid cashier at Shoppers Food Warehouse and earn his check in a more proper manner.

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer.

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