This story is a prime example of the fact that politicians are no better than the rest of us, and it is only the truly naive who believe that politicians are morally disposed to pursue what is best for others or that they are naturally gifted and competent to do so.

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We live in a country where many believe that business leaders are greedy while politicians are benevolent. This is why they put so much confidence in government to meet society’s needs instead of in the private sector. That is, business men and women look out for their own “selfish” interests where as politicians are generally good-natured people who look out for the interest of the other as an innate disposition.

Time and time again, however, we are confronted with the reality that if business people can be greedy, then so can politicians. Why? Because both roles are occupied by real people who are morally flawed and need accountability. The key difference between the two is that business people can be greedy with money that is earned by themselves or their employees whereas politicians are greedy with money that is taken from other people under threat of being thrown in jail. American taxpayers would be wise to remember, then, that politicians are morally flawed people who, when given the opportunity, will pursue their own financial self interests like anyone else. Why? Because they are human and power has a corrupting influence for those in national as well as local politics.

The Atlanta-Journal Constitution, for example, reports that East Point, Georgia (an adjacent suburb to the city of Atlanta) cannot account for $200 million taken from taxpayers. [Editor’s note: the original URL (link) referenced is no longer valid, so the link has been removed.]

An audit has revealed that $200 million in taxpayer money has gone missing in the city of East Point over the past 12 years. Mayor Earnestine Pittman says a forensic audit showed the city spent the money between 2000 and 2012 without issuing purchase orders to account for how the money was used. Pittman says some of the money may have been put to legitimate use, but also suspects the missing money could be attributed to fraud. Mark Felton, of Felton Financial Forensics, performed the audit and said the city failed to account for roughly 40 percent of its purchases between 2000 and 2012. Felton says all accounts payable documents from the time period are also missing.

The details of the story have yet to fully unfold but, at best, this is a story about incompetence and negligence. The worst case scenario, as suspected by Pittman, is that this is the result of fraud. To be fair, the missing funds are probably some mixture of fraud and negligence and only time will tell which one resulted in blowing $200 million worth of earnings from the taxpayers of this Atlanta suburb. This story is a prime example of the fact that politicians are no better than the rest of us, and it is only the truly naive who believe that politicians are morally disposed to pursue what is best for others or that they are naturally gifted and competent to do so.

Anthony Bradley is an Associate Professor of Theology and Ethics at The King’s College, NYC. This article is taken from the Acton Institute Power blog and is used with permission.