Is There A Legal Remedy To Our Corruption Problem?

Government corruption seems rampant here in the US. I know it's not every government employee, I'm not saying that. Elements of our bureaucracy have gotten out of control though, abusing the responsibilities they have been given. In some cases laws passed by our legislative branch are complicit(patriot act, etc.), in others not so much. What's to be done about it? What is the legal remedy, if any, that the people can pursue?

Vote them out...well that's a nice thought, but it doesn't really answer the question. If laws have clearly been broken, these people should be held accountable whether they are serving in office or not. Congressional investigation...in which lots of political maneuvering takes place between the two 'sides' of our joke of a two party system, legislators display great consternation for public consumption, and nothing that addresses the problem actually happens. DOJ...schmee oh jay. There are plenty of persons and institutions, government and otherwise, known to have blatantly violated lots and lots of laws, who are never prosecuted. Again, this is a solution to these problems that is not accessible to the people. While voting with our dollars is a great idea, it does nothing to punish wrongs done in the name of big business or government, nor does it provide remedies to those damaged. Also bailouts make this tactic moot in many cases.

Let's just imagine for awhile that I had the goods on everyone. Every corrupt institution, corporation, and person of significance, I have knowledge and sufficient evidence of their crimes. Imagine also that congress will do nothing, and that the DOJ and/or other executive authorities are also unwilling to act(that one's not too hard to imagine, I know). What then? File charges or bring suit in federal court? What if the judges are corrupt as well, and refuse to hear the case? Is there a people's grand jury that can be convened? Some other legal remedy? What is it? For purposes of answering this question, if anyone will seriously attempt to do so, please give a two part answer that assumes that I have either 100 billion dollars to wage this legal battle, or zero dollars.

It seems if there is no legal remedy, and our government does not act for the benefit of the people, that we are headed either to de facto totalitarian government(just imagine for the sake of this argument that we aren't there already) or a revolution. I do not advocate or support either of these solutions. While revolt might solve the problem, I think it would more likely leave the corrupt individuals and institutions that got us into this quagmire in the first place more firmly in charge. Plus a lot of people could die. American vs. American...not something I want to see, and really no guarantee that the outcome will be beneficial to us or our nation.

What's the solution then? How do we fix it without burning this mofo to the ground in the process? I think in terms of passing better laws, the peoples' initiative process can be utilized and is often overlooked. The initiative process can even be used to pass federal laws or amend the constitution. Though this has not yet happened to my knowledge(a federal law being passed by the initiative process), the mechanism is there. This does not prosecute corruption, however, so it really doesn't solve our problem. Beyond that, I've got nothing, so I bring this question to you ATS.

I would've liked to do more research for this thread, but I thought it better to start this discussion sooner rather than later. I am afraid to put it off. This is important, so help, please.

Dutarte has a plan.

a reply to: Phage

Uhaha...hah. No.

"Legal"? Heh, apparently not. South Dakota's Finger to Anti-Corruption

Not when the people making the laws are all corrupt.

And power corrupts. "Your guy" is no exception.

Actually enforcing the laws. The FBI living up to its anti-corruption mandate. Seems like it shouldn't be too hard.

a reply to: TheBadCabbie

Just so you know, every government on Earth has these kinds of problems to some extent. We're neither more nor less corrupt than other countries in that regard. That leads me to believe that the problem isn't the various segments of the American government & business sector; it's humanity itself. No matter where we live, what language we speak, or what ideology/religion we follow, humans seem to have an overwhelming capacity for "corruption", whatever that means.

So to answer your questions:

What's the solution then? How do we fix it without burning this mofo to the ground in the process?

Burning it to the ground certainly wouldn't fix anything. Humans would still have unfilled needs/wants and people would still be greedy & place their inner circles above the needs of everyone else. I'm not even sure if that's a bad thing in itself, since it's not only poor people who have loved ones that they place above strangers. But doing that in business and politics is considered corruption (like "nepotism", "insider trading", etc).

So the basic answer may be something as simple as "start with yourself". If you're against corruption, then start by not being corrupt yourself. If you're against corporate greed, then start by not being greedy in your own interactions with people. If you're against incompetence and a lack of consequences for screw ups, then start by making sure you're held accountable for your own screw-ups and mistakes.

I'm saying this because the people in bureaucratic and business positions are simply humans. They have their own good days and bad days; good traits and bad traits. But as fellow humans, it seems to be hypocritical to expect them to abide by a higher moral code than we personally do. After all, many of us are also employed and/or have interactions with the public. The same flaws, vices, and bad habits that we have in our personal lives will probably carry over into our professional lives. Hence, the presence of "corruption". So in short, the corruption we're pointing at in some fields may be the same corruption that others are pointing out when looking at our own fields.

TL;DR

If everyone stopped being corrupt, corruption would stop this instant. But that means we'd have to be honest about the way we treat others, especially in our professional lives. And it means we'd then have to change that behavior, which I'm not confident that people are willing to do.

a reply to: TheBadCabbie

new job called quest givers so people can have something to do? not blindly doing stuff dnno

a reply to: daniel2sxc

so ye give more quest to the people in power XD

a reply to: daniel2sxc

they shud also wear gopros and stream their quest for entertainment

a reply to: TheBadCabbie

What proof do you have of this corruption? I am just asking. We have good guidelines for whistleblowers and they have legal protection. Perhaps the answer is to encourage the whistleblowers.

The FBI just needs to chuck out this 'too big to fail' attitude towards the Two Party System, shake all the rotten apples out, and by the time that's done (with people facing actual consequences) that right there would set the tone that the Big Corruption party is over. There's enough laws on the books already to make a major impact. The rest wouldn't be too hard to figure out. Real checks & balances with real consequences. And shatter the Two Party System's STRANGLEHOLD over the elections and now we're on track. Same goes for MSM cronyism.

Or they can let the crony's play their games until The People finally have no choice but to burn it all down. And IF that happens it will be squarely on their hands however that scenario would end up playing out. As it is there's already immense blood and suffering on their hands from not stopping the ruthless tyrant psychopath's that have been squeezing the planet for too many decades now there's no point in even trying to add them all up.

originally posted by: IgnoranceIsntBlisss
The FBI just needs to chuck out this 'too big to fail' attitude towards the Two Party System, shake all the rotten apples out, and by the time that's done (with people facing actual consequences) that right there would set the tone that the Big Corruption party is over.

No, the FBI needs to stay out of the politic. Then again, there are those who are fine with jackbooted thugs running things.

originally posted by: Tiger5
a reply to: TheBadCabbie

What proof do you have of this corruption? I am just asking. We have good guidelines for whistleblowers and they have legal protection. Perhaps the answer is to encourage the whistleblowers.

What proof or documentation I might or might not possess is not the point or focus of this thread. What we need to determine is whether there is a legal remedy available to the people, and if so what is it? The fate of the world could actually depend on the right people knowing the answer to this question.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

TL;DR? What do you mean by that? Do you mean that you didn't even take the time to read my OP, even though you took the time to type out a lengthy answer, or are you trying to say something else?

a reply to: IgnoranceIsntBlisss

Well sure, but barring that, is there a remedy that the people can initiate or undertake irrespective of whether or not the government decides to take action? I dunno, a people's grand jury or something? Anything you are aware of?

Your on a hiding to nothing. Apart from a shooting with bullets revolution absolutely nothing will ever change and the main culprits are the intelligent services themselves. It's all a circle jerk.
Some-one in power(no matter who, even the Potus) that gets found out doing a dirty deed by the intels would always be in a position to be controlled.
So control the men who give you power and the power cannot be taken away from you and you can do whatever you want. Isn't that's what's happening now. Also include the military defense (the biggest money drain the US has) in that realm.

Treason is an executable offense.. so yeah. There's your method to curb corruption. You kill enough seditious and treasonous jerks and folks think twice. Thats also why we dont do it anymore.. theyre all corrupt. So burn it to the ground.. then term limits and etc for the poor fools who still wish to have a career in politics. Make it a low paying civil servant position with heavy average joe policing and oversight.

Oh and revolution?? Bullets?? Hell, folks cant decide on anything and we expect any sort of organized revolution?? HAHAHA!! There are a lot out there that could pew pew their way to revolution and be organized, but these days... a fire from within the anthill is preferable.

In short there is no legal remedy. Not in a conventional sense anyway.
The American people refuse to stand United in sufficient numbers to cleanup anything.
Government, Industry, you name it.
The future of this nation is in the hands of the people.
And, as it stands now, I see very little hope every returning to anything close to the America I once lived in.

a reply to: Phage

Fatal Accidents to the Right Unscrupulous People Also Works......Just sayin' *