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I work in government, and I remember a story told to me by a federal official who was involved in the arrest of a former member of congress for bribery. The off

I work in government, and I remember a story told to me by a federal official who was involved in the arrest of a former member of congress for bribery. The official told me that, essentially what the congressman did was illegal under federal law, but it was what you had to do in order to "do business" in "those parts of the world." I found that interesting. With what is going on today in the world, between nations committing human rights abuse and war, America still does business with them. Money exchanges hands, which furthers human rights abuses' and war because that's what our policymakers believe we needed to do to achieve our goals. One is breaking the law to achieve a goal, but what is the other called?

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igetspam 5y ago
While in India once, I ran into a friend from Google who was out there trying to build a data center. Total coincidence that we were both there at the same time. I was there to hire and train for another company and he was there to break ground. He'd been there for week and they'd yet to start doing more than some bare minimums related to surveys and permits. I was surprised that he was there at all, given the current state of construction. It turns out, they were way off target and they thought there was more progress already. Every time he spoke to anyone about permits and approvals, they'd say it was almost done and then there would be a delay. Amazon and Microsoft had been building in the area already and they had started the process much later. The difference? Google has a very strict policy on bribes. If you pay one, you won't be reimbursed and if they do and out, you won't be employed any longer. Microsoft and Amazon had no such policy and the conversations my friend had with his counterparts at those companies were pretty forthcoming about it. It's just how business is done there and if you don't play ball, you will have a hard time. Of course they paid. You have to. If you don't, things will happen eventually but that timeline is unpredictable. I'm sure Google found ways to ethically encourage progress eventually.
- missedthecue 5y ago
  Meanwhile in America and the entire west to an extent, you have the government trying to "bribe" businesses to open in their jurisdiction through tax incentives and so forth. Really interesting cultural difference.
  - rosndo 5y ago
    It’s the lack of corruption. In India the projects are blocked by individual officials seeking to line their pockets, they don’t care if that causes their area to lose out on the project.
- zelon88 5y ago
  I'm somewhat confused. Here in America when you want to accomplish something like open a new facility you basically force the potential municipalities into competing with each other to win your favor. A big company will go to all the Chambers of Commerce in a given area and basically say "we're considering opening a 100,000 Sq ft facility and hiring 300 people. What incentives can you offer me if I build it here?" Then the towns will bend over backwards, gut their taxes, ease their planning zones, and basically contort everything they can to become the most appealing location. Is it just cheaper to skip this step and bribe the city in other parts of the world? Why doesn't this practice work or take place overseas?
  - AlexanderTheGr8 5y ago
    I'm originally from a small part of India, and the logic is quite simple. In your example, 300 jobs = 300 votes. But it would require millions in incentives to the company. But the local politician can just "buy" 300 votes with 300,000 INR (indian currency; 1000 rupees for 1 vote). So there is no point spending so much money on a facility when you can simply buy all the votes you need.
    - zelon88 5y ago
      That is terrifying. So is Microsoft literally buying and installing politicians in foreign governments?

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igetspam 5y ago

While in India once, I ran into a friend from Google who was out there trying to build a data center. Total coincidence that we were both there at the same time. I was there to hire and train for another company and he was there to break ground. He'd been there for week and they'd yet to start doing more than some bare minimums related to surveys and permits. I was surprised that he was there at all, given the current state of construction. It turns out, they were way off target and they thought there was more progress already. Every time he spoke to anyone about permits and approvals, they'd say it was almost done and then there would be a delay. Amazon and Microsoft had been building in the area already and they had started the process much later. The difference? Google has a very strict policy on bribes. If you pay one, you won't be reimbursed and if they do and out, you won't be employed any longer. Microsoft and Amazon had no such policy and the conversations my friend had with his counterparts at those companies were pretty forthcoming about it. It's just how business is done there and if you don't play ball, you will have a hard time. Of course they paid. You have to. If you don't, things will happen eventually but that timeline is unpredictable. I'm sure Google found ways to ethically encourage progress eventually.

missedthecue 5y ago
Meanwhile in America and the entire west to an extent, you have the government trying to "bribe" businesses to open in their jurisdiction through tax incentives and so forth. Really interesting cultural difference.
- rosndo 5y ago
  It’s the lack of corruption. In India the projects are blocked by individual officials seeking to line their pockets, they don’t care if that causes their area to lose out on the project.
zelon88 5y ago
I'm somewhat confused. Here in America when you want to accomplish something like open a new facility you basically force the potential municipalities into competing with each other to win your favor. A big company will go to all the Chambers of Commerce in a given area and basically say "we're considering opening a 100,000 Sq ft facility and hiring 300 people. What incentives can you offer me if I build it here?" Then the towns will bend over backwards, gut their taxes, ease their planning zones, and basically contort everything they can to become the most appealing location. Is it just cheaper to skip this step and bribe the city in other parts of the world? Why doesn't this practice work or take place overseas?
- AlexanderTheGr8 5y ago
  I'm originally from a small part of India, and the logic is quite simple. In your example, 300 jobs = 300 votes. But it would require millions in incentives to the company. But the local politician can just "buy" 300 votes with 300,000 INR (indian currency; 1000 rupees for 1 vote). So there is no point spending so much money on a facility when you can simply buy all the votes you need.
  - zelon88 5y ago
    That is terrifying. So is Microsoft literally buying and installing politicians in foreign governments?