Soft Corruption ─ How Unethical Conduct Undermines Good Government and What to Do About It

A New Jersey official hires relatives as paid consultants for services that don’t exist. State legislators and county freeholders hold more than one public office, collecting multiple salaries. These and other practices are forms of soft corruption, in other words, the tactics politicians use to unethically, but legally, manipulate government for their own benefit, undermining the public interest. Americans have come to accept politics as a bed of corruption—that’s the way it has always been. Sadly, New Jersey has gained a reputation as a state where corruption is particularly prevalent at all levels of government.

New Jersey politician William E. Schluter addresses five areas of soft corruption: campaign financing, lobbying, conflict of interest, patronage, and the electoral process. Soft corruption in campaign financing is the most pervasive component. Schluter explores how agencies and campaign committees utilize underhanded but legal techniques like “wheeling” to get around donation caps and “pay to play” to veil what is essentially bribery. New Jersey is among the worst states in terms of financial soft corruption. With even local officials enormously beholden to campaign contributors, consideration of what is best for the public is a distant afterthought.

Throughout the book, we see the serious consequences of soft corruption, such as higher cost of government and reduced public faith in its operations. With impressive detail, Schluter concludes by outlining a platform for reform in New Jersey.
 

WILLIAM E. SCHLUTER is a Republican lawmaker who served in both houses of the New Jersey legislature, and authored two pioneering laws regulating lobbying and campaign finance. Subsequently, he served as chair of the Citizens Clean Elections Commission and vice-chair of the State Ethics Commission.