LINKS: Corruption Is Up In The United States
New York Times: The Spreading Scourge of Corporate Corruption
The misconduct of the financial industry no longer surprises most Americans. Only about one in five has much trust in banks, according to Gallup polls, about half the level in 2007. And it’s not just banks that are frowned upon. Trust in big business overall is declining. Sixty-two percent of Americans believe corruption is widespread across corporate America. According to Transparency International, an anticorruption watchdog, nearly three in four Americans believe that corruption has increased over the last three years.
Washington Post: Obama campaign shrugs off reports of Romney’s fundraising advantage
The Obama campaign on Tuesday shrugged off reports showing that Republican challenger Mitt Romney outpaced the president by $35 million in contributions last month, even after firing off a dire message to donors warning of defeat in November if fundraising doesn’t improve.
And a reminder from Sunlight Foundation: Romney surging, but Obama well ahead in campaign cash
For Mitt Romney, the magic number is $158 million. That’s how much he’ll have to outraise President Barack Obama over the last four months of the campaign to surpass the president, the record holder for campaign fundraising.
Business Insider: This Is The Swank Wyoming Resort Where Dick Cheney Is Hosting An Exclusive Fundraiser For Mitt Romney
If this week’s high-dollar donor events are any clue, Romney is poised for another huge fundraising month. The candidate will hobnob at the homes and country clubs of deep-pocketed donors in Aspen and Jackson Hole this week, including at a private event hosted by former Vice President Dick Cheney at his Wyoming mansion.
The Washington Post: Vast ‘shadow campaign’ said to have aided Gray in 2010
A secret $653,000 effort funded by one of the District government’s most prominent contractors corrupted the 2010 mayoral race and helped Vincent C. Gray get elected, the city’s top federal prosecutor said Tuesday.
The Nation: Romney’s Donors Share His Love of Offshore Tax Havens
And perhaps not so mysteriously, some of the biggest abusers of offshore tax havens—along with some of the chief facilitators of this practice—seem to have gravitated to Romney’s re-election effort. Of the his campaign’s top eleven contributors, seven are financial firms with significant offshore tax haven activity.