Corruption I

 

Hazy Shade of Winter

Time, time, time
See what's become of me
While I looked around for my possibilities|
I  was so hard to please
Look around
Leaves are brown
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

Does time matter in a bribe?

According to the 2024 decision of the Supreme Court in Snyder v. US, a payment after a transaction such as the awarding of a contract for garbage collection, is a gratuity, a gift.  A payment before a transaction can be considered a bribe, a pay-off.  This use of a moment of time is NOT in accordance with the popular perception of a bribe, pay-off.  For example, if Judas Iscariot had not received his 30 pieces of silver until after he betrayed Jesus, the popular perception is that those 30 pieces of silver would still be a bribe, not a gift.  The time at which a bribe occurs should have no bearing on whether it was a morally a bribe. According to SCOTUS, legally it might not be a bribe, but morally it is, and will always be, a bribe.