“You can’t get rich in politics unless you are a crook.”
-- Harry S. Truman
To put this in context, Harry S. Truman rose to become the 33rd president of the United States from very humble beginnings. He was known for his honesty. But when he assumed the presidency in 1944, corruption was rife in Washington. He had to terminate the services of many officials, including party mates.
Assuming Truman is right, I thought of propounding the following syllogism:
Major premise: You can’t get rich in politics unless you are a crook. Minor premise: Many, if not most, Filipino politicians got rich or richer in office. Ergo: Many, if not most, Filipino politicians are crooks.
The Minor Premise is incontrovertible. Some politicians got rich in office. Others got richer in office. Many, if not most of them now, are not just rich but filthy rich. The Conclusion, however, that many, if not most, politicians are crooks is valid only if our assumption that Truman’s quote, the Major Premise, is true.
That brings up my personal belief that Truman’s quote, the Major Premise, is true and valid. My basis for this is the history of corruption in government in this country. There are no poor politicians, not anymore anyway. This has been the case ever since because we have a political system that has dishonesty and corruption written all over it in capital letters.
One gains insight into how our system easily corrupts by looking at how US President Trump is able to violate the US constitution and the sovereignty of other nations. The Republican Party that he heads has the majority and full control of both houses of Congress. His appointments are vetted and approved as he wishes. Investigations of Congressional oversight committees are biased in his favor. The constitutionally mandated check and balance of power no longer exists.
US political parties, however, are ideology-based. Americans can always change the Republican direction of government by electing Democrats who would then drain the political swamp Trump has created. (I don’t know though if they should wait for next elections to be rid of Trump. Fascism by then might have gained a solid foothold on what was once a bastion of democracy.)
Unfortunately, in the Philippines the swamp is never drained. Ideologically nondescript major parties are of the same political color. They all represent the interests of big capitalists and big landowners. Hence, after every election, officials have no problem moving over to the party of the President, leaving no credible opposition inside.
In this system, where everybody in government licks his boots, the President has control of everything and can do just about anything. In this system elections do not change government direction. They only change the personalities who help themselves to people’s money and thus dirty up the swamp.
The temptation to be corrupt is so built into our system that many, if not most, politicians seamlessly succumb to it. The system has to change or the swamp is never drained but just gets dirtier and more fit for crocodiles to thrive.