Paper Clips

A secretary is asked by her boss to stay and work over time. She's a competent and reliable worker who always goes the extra mile to get things done just as her employer requires. So, here is this woman, working overtime, her boss has already left the office, she's going to be late starting supper, and she also had planned to stop by Office Max to pick up a box of paperclips. She thinks to herself: "I really need those paper clips so that I can start working on the paper work for the church. I'll just take a box from the office supply room here at work. They won't be missed, I work really hard for this company, I deserve this box of paperclips for all the extra things I do, and besides, it's for the church."

This, in a nutshell, is why so many politicians become involved in financial scandals while they are in office. It's not that they are crooks, (though some are) it's because they rationalize that they deserve special rewards for the fine jobs that they do. They look at the sometimes billions of dollars in federal spending they bring home to their constituents. They look at executives of major corporations that make millions in salaries and bonuses. They look at the cost to finance their election campaigns, and believe that it is vitally important to their city, county, state, or nation, that they be reelected. And, it's true, many politicians make huge financial and personal sacrifices, and they are often very effective and respected politicians. So, they cheat on their franking privileges, they take a special financing deal on their new house, they accept campaign contributions from people whose agendas they would rather not support, but they feel that, in order for them to be reelected, it is better to support the contributor's agenda so that, as politicians, they can continue their good work. Unfortunately, like the woman who takes the paperclips, or later on, twenty dollars from petty cash, or cooks the books at her church, politicians often use the paper clip rationalization over and over again until they become totally corrupt.