The United States is one of the least corrupt countries in the world (Transparency, 2017). But after watching and listening to the YouTube video, one will have an entirely different picture concerning the state of corruption in the United States. Statistically, the videos show us that a high percentage of legislation passed by Congress are unpopular among the majority of the voters with records showing an average of 30 percent popularity (RepresentUS, 2015). While Congress is meant to represent the interest of the public when making laws, corporation’s or rather large companies which are recognized by the law as independent entities continue to yield extreme power in American politics. Besides active participation in the electoral process through their ability to fund candidates, these companies have enormous influence when it comes to lawmaking process.

As opposed to the electorate, large companies have a lot of influence when it comes to the legislative process. These large companies can perfectly and smoothly influence legislation to favor their activities. Through direct funding of candidates, they exact huge influence on Congress to pass laws that support their activities.  In addition to this, job offers are often dangled to influence legislation in favor of these companies (RepresentUS, 2015). Given the amount of money that is involved, it can be said perfectly, that corruption is legal in America and anyone with vast amounts of money can influence legislation in their favor.

In line with the concern of the raised in the video, it is essential that corruption be illegalized. Companies should not be allowed to influence the political process through funding of legislators that work on their behalf (Homans, 2018). Looking at the figures that are involved in this corrupt lobbying process, there is a need for passing legislation that forbids corporate bodies to fund candidates or parties. While these companies might spend massive amount of funds in campaigns, what they gain in terms of tax benefits is incomparable.

References

Homans, C. (2018). Americans Think ‘Corruption’ Is Everywhere. Is That Why We Vote for It?

The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/10/magazine/americans-think-corruption-is-everywhere-is-that-why-we-vote-for-it.html

Transparency International (2017). Corruption in the USA: The difference a year makes.

Retrieved from

https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_in_the_usa_the_difference_a_year_makes

RepresentUS (2015). Corruption is Legal in America. YouTube. Retrieved from.

https://youtu.be/5tu32CCA_Ig