Admissions scandal unfolds amid cynicism about moral values
In some ways, the college-admissions bribery scheme newly revealed by federal prosecutors seemed almost inevitable. Ethics experts say Americans these days are barraged with accounts of corruption, greed and amoral behavior to the point that many likely wonder, “Why should I play by the rules?” Whether it’s gaming the system to secure entry to an elite college, or circumventing laws and ethical norms to evade taxes, swindle customers or pocket illicit gains, unethical behavior has always been among America’s national pastimes. Yet a strong case can be made that this moment is distinctive, with its constant stream of high-profile scandals entangling bankers, drug companies, sports organizations, government officials and others. “There’s a rawer pursuit of opportunities and benefits than there once was,” said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University. “It was always there, but now it’s broader, and there are elements of society that once responded to social and professional restraints that no longer do so.” The admissions scandal, as outlined this week by federal authorities, is the biggest such scam ever prosecuted by the Justice Department. Fifty people were charged in a scheme in which wealthy parents allegedly paid an estimated $25 million in bribes to college coaches and other insiders to get their children into elite schools. “I don’t think anyone is shocked that children of the wealthy have an easier time getting into top schools,” said Nick Smith, a philosophy professor at the University of New Hampshire. “The deck is stacked in their favor, even if they can’t quite directly buy their way in.” “What is new here is that all of those considerable advantages apparently aren’t enough for some and they will go to any length to directly buy their way in,” Smith said. “It’s like the veneer of fairness is cracking all around us, and corruption is increasingly on the surface of our most esteemed institutions.” Some rule-breakers get caught, of course. Martin Shkreli, who provoked outrage with a 5,000 percent hike in the price of a vital drug, is serving a seven-year sentence in federal prison for securities fraud. Paul Manafort, Donald Trump‘s former campaign chairman, faces prison time for concealing his foreign lobbying work, laundering millions of dollars, and coaching witnesses to lie on his behalf. However, public cynicism about America’s moral standards is high, as evidenced in the annual Values and Morals poll conducted by Gallup since 2002. In the latest poll, released last June, a record high 49 percent of respondents rated moral values in the U.S. as poor, and only 14 percent rated them excellent or good. The perception that unethical behavior is increasingly commonplace could have a snowball effect, says Andrew Cullison, a philosophy professor who heads DePauw University’s Prindle Institute for Ethics. “People think that if moral standards have eroded, why should they play by the rules,” he said. “If they’ve lost trust in some entity or institution, then that organization has lost the right to their compliance with the rules.” Cullison said President Trump and his administration may be contributing to those perceptions with their departure from some longstanding ethical norms. Trump, for example, has refused to release his tax returns, as other recent presidents did, and has neither divested his business holdings or placed them in a blind trust. “It’s the objective truth that norms of conduct are being violated,” Cullison said. “Where people differ is how outraged they are. If you’re getting what you want (in terms of policy), you’ll be more willing to look the other way.” Jordan Libowitz, a spokesman for the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, noted that several of Trump’s Cabinet appointees have been the subject of ethics investigations “We’re seeing a pattern of not caring about ethics that we’ve not seen before,” Libowitz said. “It sets a dangerous precedent for future administrations, that once ethical norms are pushed aside and nothing is done about it, this might become the new normal.” Libowitz said Congress could take new steps to tighten ethical standards for the executive branch, updating and strengthening some of the reforms enacted in the post-Watergate era of the late 1970s. Congress has its own image problems. A Gallup poll in December asked respondents in the U.S. to rank 20 different occupations in terms of their ethical standards — members of Congress ranked the lowest, below car salespeople and telemarketers. Nurses were at the top. College administrators, teachers and coaches weren’t part of the Gallup poll. But Robert M. Franklin, a professor of moral leadership at Emory University in Atlanta, said the admissions scandal should be a catalyst for substantive reforms throughout higher education, including auditing of admissions procedures by outside accreditation agencies. “This is revealed as hardworking, bright students of color, women and immigrants are benefiting from smart affirmative action policies that correct past injustice and exclusion,” Franklin said in an email. “Now, we must all question whether the scions of affluent white parents gamed the system to ensure admission for their average offspring.” Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
$300 million to corrupt firm? Auditor Jim Zeigler says no
Alabama is no stranger to political corruption charges. The state has seen elected officials at every level of government charged and found guilty of crimes. In what some perceive as a tone-deaf move, the state is moving forward to contract with Wexford Health Sources — a company that has found itself in the middle of a bribery case in neighboring Mississippi. Wexford has been named in a suit brought forth by the Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood to recoup funds and damages related to bribery charges that sent the former Mississippi Corrections Commissioner, Chris Epps, to jail for 20 years. And now, the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) will bring a contract — for prison medical and mental health services — with Wexford to the to the legislature’s Contracts Review Committee on March 1 for approval. The contract, effective April 1, 2018 states Wexford “will provide comprehensive healthcare including both medical and mental health care and management services to State inmates in accordance to applicable laws” through Sept. 30, 2020 for a sum of $360,471,062. [Copy of DOC-Wexford contract] Alabama Today reached out to Bob Horton, Public Information Manager at the State Department of Corrections, for comment on Monday, regarding the contract but has yet to hear back from him. But according to the Associated Press, Horton claims Wexford had not been accused of any wrongdoing when the state decided to sign a contract with them. “When the pick was made that ‘Wexford Health has not been accused of any wronging and the department is confident the review committee selected the right company for the health care contract,” Horton told the AP. On Tuesday, State Auditor Jim Zeigler requested the committee order “the maximum delay allowed by law” on the proposed contract. Zeigler says considering the fact Alabama is under federal court order to improve poor prison conditions for inmates, it would irresponsible to enter into a contract with the company without knowing the court’s final decision in the case. “The State of Alabama has been found liable in a federal lawsuit concerning prison mental health,” Zeigler said in a statement. “We are now awaiting the court’s final decision on the remedies to be required. To enter into the proposed contract now without knowing what the federal court will require is irresponsible.” Zeigler continued, “If this committee orders the maximum delay allowed by law, it will give me time to reason with the Department of Corrections to wait to see what steps will be ordered by the court in this matter. Allowing this contract to go forward without knowing what the court will require is simply premature.” Wexford complaint in Mississippi:
Harvard study says Alabama gov’t among most corrupt in the U.S.
Roy Moore, chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, is suspended for instructing judges to ignore federal law. Embattled Gov. Robert Bentley faces impeachment proceedings for allegedly making “inappropriate” advances and possibly having an extramarital affair with a former staffer and adviser. And House Speaker Mike Hubbard is currently on trial for allegedly using his post to enrich himself and his political allies as he ascended to the highest echelons of power in state office and the governing Republican Party. You couldn’t blame observers of current affairs in Alabama for thinking politics in the Yellowhammer State is fundamentally corrupt, as leaders of all three branches of state government face charges over official misconduct. But a report released by Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics seems to confirm that hypothesis, naming Alabama one of the most unethical states in the nation when it comes to both legal and illegal forms of corruption. The center’s 2014 corruption study lists Alabama as one of the seven most crooked states in the union when it comes to an index of criteria including lax ethics laws, high levels of influence from campaign cash, and unscrupulous state laws governing the judicial branch, which researchers said was unduly affected by political considerations. The survey considered special interest spending per voter during elections — unusually high in Alabama — and laws designed to maintain separation of powers, as well as the occurrence of explicitly illegal corruption, where Alabama was also perceived to be considerably worse than average. “With respect to illegal corruption, Arizona is perceived to be the most corrupt state, followed by a second group of states, which includes California and Kentucky, and a third group that includes Alabama, Illinois, and New Jersey,” wrote Oguzhan Dincer and Michael Johnston, researchers affiliated with Harvard. “It is all bad news for Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, New Mexico, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania as their aggregate scores are in the highest quartiles of both illegal and legal corruption,” Dincer and Johnston wrote.
