Opinions expressed in editorials on The Central Trend are the view of the individual writer and are not the opinion of the entire staff of The Central Trend or the Forest Hills Central staff or administration.
The United States Government is, ironically, more criminal than most of the population.
In 1980, this was exemplified with a sting operation codenamed “ABSCAM;” undercover FBI agents posed as Arab investors offering generous sums of money, some up to $100,000, to congressmen and other politicians in order for them to obtain building permits for their fictitious casinos. In the end, 11 politicians were convicted and charged out of the 30 investigated. Since then, very few anti-corruption operations like “ABSCAM” have been conducted in the U.S. If the United States government wants to stop corruption, more operations and convictions need to be conducted.
For example, in the 2010s there were twelve bribery and corruption cases. Since 2020, this number has risen to thirteen, and we’re only halfway through the decade. With how bribery has been on the rise, action needs to be taken before it’s too late.
Congress is full of problems, but it doesn’t stop at bribery; according to the U.S. government, the average age of legislators in 2024 was about 61 years old, and the overwhelmingly dominant professions were business and law. This means that when legislators commit a crime, they are more than likely to be able to get out of it with little effect. Many legislators have claimed “legislative immunity” for crimes like ethics violations and DUI charges. In the 2010s, there were 133 crimes committed that involved campaign & elections (32), bribery & corruption (13), sexual harassment & abuse (16), ethics violations (62), and other crimes (10). The amount of crimes has gone down since then, with only 113 crimes committed in the 2020s involving campaign & elections (14), bribery & corruption (12), sexual harassment & abuse (3), ethics violations (45), and other crimes (39). Although there has been a decrease over the last decade, the 2020s aren’t over yet. We’re five years in and legislators have already committed about 85% of the crimes in the 2010s. Another staggering fact about our legislators is the amount of DUIs. In the last four years, eleven DUI charges have been filed against lawmakers in both the House of Representatives and Senate.
On average, if each legislator had one charge against them for every charge among members of the legislature, about 46% of our House and Senate would be criminals. With that being said, these numbers only pertain to the legislature. While this is purely hypothetical, criminals are still making laws under the noses of the public. If the U.S. government truly cared about the safety of its citizens, action would be taken to make sure our lawmakers weren’t people who are able to make laws to benefit themselves and themselves only. However, these are unfortunately the ones in charge of setting expectations and punishments for American citizens who commit the same crimes these legislators have. With our newly elected president being the first president to be a convicted felon, the government corruption statistics are only rising.
In conclusion, the legislators we have who aren’t criminals need to help remove the ones who are. This is one of the many reasons to research who you’re voting for, and with around a hundred people each year turning 18 at FHC, a difference could be made not only for the high school but for Michigan itself. Voting is one of the most important rights in the Constitution, and the American people should exercise it when needed. So when the next election comes around, let’s do some research, vote, and kick out the criminals running the country.
All numbers and data sourced from govtrack.us.
