One of Mike Bloomberg’s signal accomplishments in New York City was reversing the flow of corruption. In the old days, and in every other city in the world most days, favor-seekers bribe politicians — with cash in envelopes, with legal contributions, or with political support. In Mike Bloomerg’s New York, the mayor bribed you, buying the silence or cooperation of individuals, cultural organizations, and social service groups with hundreds in millions of dollars spent on small personal favors — a legal payment here, a medical procedure there — and charitable contributions.
Bribery is still bribery, whether it's old school bribery with the bribes going to the politicians or the new school/Bloomberg school bribery where the mayor bribed people into silence and/or cooperation.
Alas, Bloomberg hasn't been exposed as the crook he is.
Perhaps it has something to do with some of those bribes heading into the hands of journalists as they roll onto the Bloomberg News/Bloomberg Views/Bloomberg Businessweek payroll.
Perhaps it has something to do with Bloomberg's fellow media owners of the Times, Post, Journal, News, et al. not wanting to expose a fellow plutocrat.
Either way, Bloomberg spent hundreds of millions if not more bribing people into silence.
And we'll never know how many people were on his payroll or just what was left unexposed or unchallenged because of all his largesse.
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