Bribery, involves offering money in
return for political action or influence. Often this bribery comes in cash
form, without involving bank transactions, and this is one of the reasons many
lobbyists have been accused of bribery.
Bribery
is when money contributions are made to a political group in expectation of
being favored in political or legislative decisions. Priorities and decisions
of legislators, governors, councilmen and the President alike, are defined by
money handouts by lobbyists
Lobbying, refers to the act of trying to influence members of a
legislative body to vote in favor of the ‘lobbyist’. In some governments,
‘lobbyists’ have formally recognized groups, whose interests are ‘lobbied’ for,
that may be wholly or partially funded by organizations, or even nations.
On
a softer note, lobbying may just involve political support offered in return
for political influence, or action. Lobbying that is legalized by a government
does not involve financial support.
At
times, there exists a very fine line between the two. Lobbyists have become
very aggressive in pushing for their agendas, and this has led many to think
that their practices have become unacceptable, as it unfairly swings the
political landscape in favor of the rich and the big corporations that can use
their monetary influence.
Definitely,
this kind of system has major drawbacks, since the concerns of the ‘common man’
or ‘society’ will not matter if they are contrary to the interests of the big
businesses. Some business leaders have such a grip on the avenues to power,
that the gap between the businesses and the file and rank (who are the
customers) is very wide.
Precisely
put, bribery is when a business, individual or a group of individuals, offer cash
or property in exchange for a specific influence in their favor. For instance,
when a legislator tells his constituent that he will vote for certain
legislation in return for a certain amount of money, then that is bribery.
Many
times, proving a bribe can be as hard as it can be to distinguish between
bribery (which is illegal) and lobbying (which is legal in in the United States),
unless informers are used.
Informers
will have to offer the real bribes, and tape the officials accepting the money
offers. Alternatively, if there’s some written agreement with the official
consenting to the bribery, it could also prove the acceptance of a bribe.
Otherwise, proving a connection between the two parties without evidence can
seem like a ‘trying to climb a mountain, with a tractor on your back.’
So:
·
Lobbying is trying to influence politicians to decide in your
favor, while bribing means the same, except that there is an offer of money or
property.
·
Lobbying is legal (although contentious), while bribery is
out right illegal.
·
Bribery is an offense against society.
-
bird
