Corruption

[parsley]

Does corruption play a lead role in agriculture today, a secondary role, or do you believe it is absent altogether?
Pars

[burnt]

Corruption where or at what level?

[shaney]

Be more sprcific.

[parsley]

Take your pick

1. In Governments
2 In Institutions
3. In Industry
4. In Organizations
5. In Farmers
6. None of the above

[rockpile]

Define corruption!
Rockpile

[parsley]

...Engaging in some aspect of agriculture with insidious intent causing illegality.
...Manipulative actions that veer from ethical conduct resulting in modification that not only harms agriculture's reputation, but harms farm income.
...Cheating.
...Defaulting for self interest.
...The political class of one segmant of agricultue protecting and covering the ass of the political class of another segment of agriculture.
...Insider trading/deals/manipulation.
...Using legislated powers for illegitimate private gain.
...Misuse of government power for another segmant of society.
...Dishonest dealings.
...Bribes.
...Buying co-operation with ads, trips, etc.
...Purposefully hiding information/changing data.
...Abuse of power.

You get the picture.

[parsley]

Add kickbacks
Electoral fraud
Involvement with Organized Crime
Influence Peddling
Embezzlement
Employee Patronage

[burnt]

And then one would have to weigh whether the activity is legal but unethical or ethical but illegal . . .

Wow, quite a scope of possibilities!

[bucket]

Read page 66 of last week's WP about a farmer named dewar and his sad story of fusarium.

The guy gets paid a number 2 for his shit wheat and the rest of us are still waiting for our adjustment payment.

All the cwb does is encourage people in Manitoba to continue to grow wheat so the rest of us who grow Number 1 blend their shit off.

I call that corruption.

[rockpile]

Pars - too shrewish! Merriam Webster: 1:
impairment of integrity, virtue or moral principle:
DEPRAVITY. 2. Decay, decomposition. 3.inducement
to wrong by bribery or other unlawful or improper
means. 4. a departure from what is pure or correct.
5. an agency or influence that corrupts: From this
definition, I'm not sure there is anyone left who is
NOT corrupt. I would offer that the best anyone can
do is simply offer what they feel and believe is the
best for all and to take the responsibility in their
own lives to not do harm to others but also support
what gives the most benefit to the many. Why do
you ask this silly question anyway? Ya got a guilt
thing going on or what?
Rockpile

[parsley]

I listened to a program about corruption, and how insidious it is, and how it has permeated various parts of societies in various parts of the world.

People use the word glibly, but do we have corruption in agriculture? Is it transparent?

One RM caught a gambling employee stealing money from the tax accounts, but it was pretty much kept hush hush. Why?

For example, there were rampant rumours of the Sask Wheat Pool manipulating canola futures at the WCE. If it was true they paid a fine, all hush hush, (and that is a speculatively informed proposition), is that what you would consider corruption? Why was it not transparent?

Or, for example, one could speculatively ask, are there ag players with legislated power, mainly enriching themselves through hidden accounts?

For example: Have politicians themselves invested heavily in ag stock and push certain agendas?

Or: Is private information about your farming operations being sold by ex directors/executives?

Maybe the question should have been: If there is corruption, would farmers rather not know?


Afraid I'm not as rich as Al Gore, and don't even have enough cash to be defined as 'corrupt' Rocky, but bet your bed will be sitting on a stuffed base ten feet off the ground, lol, pars

[Hopperbin]

Or: Is private information about your farming operations being sold by ex directors/executives?

You mean like the MNP partner partnering with Earth One?

Maybe the question should have been: If there is corruption, would farmers rather not know?

Why wouldn't we want to know?

But I would think that the farmer that through in a number of bags of treated seed in his truck of canola and delivered it to Bunge in Humboldt must have had brain damage. Happened about 3 or 4 years ago.

[parsley]

The budget for MP's expenses is $500 Million per year.

MP's voted to disallow the Auditor General to examine their expenses.

Right.

If you go to the link below and look up your MP's address and tell him you want open transparent accounting of your tax dollars, maybe these elected donkeys will be a little more careful with your money.


http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/SenatorsMembers_house.asp?Language=E&Parl=37&Ses=2 &Sect=hoccur

Parsley

[parsley]

hopper, If you read commonsense's May 12 comment:


" would be shocked if all merchants buddies, you know the big boys, weren't in on it. you take all the big companies merchants and all there good buddies thats probably 100 guys at least that knew and were long that contract. the contract with zero open interest of course. and then 1 20 tonne contract traded up overnight so that works out to about 9 bushels each that each of these guys MUST have had (despite there being zero open interest). Most have already put payments on new million dollar houses all at the producers expense...... "

You'll note a teensy bit of skepticism?

So I wondered if farmers believe there is ongoing evidence of corruption, or if farmers dismiss it as hokey, or if farmers just hope it will go away if it is, in fact, evident and existant. Pars