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BEIJING, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- At a recent charity dinner attended by U.S. Republican Party's presidential nominee Donald Trump and his Democratic Party rival Hillary Clinton, Trump pounded that it's the first time Hillary charged no fees at large-scale gatherings of business leaders.
This scene took place after the third and final round of presidential debate, when the race for the top job in the United States was entering the final stage.
In fact, a large number of politicians in the United States are adept at exchanging power for money or benefits in the self-claimed most democratic country in the world, no matter how their tactics may vary.
In order to make their corruption more imperceptible, many employ the means of deferred payment, which means once they descend from their influential positions, they would join interest groups such as various corporations, a phenomenon dubbed by the American public as the "power revolving door".
The political campaign in the United States is costly, which spells its nature of money politics. On the other hand, "generous" donors would want their money back by socializing with holders of power. To sum up, it is "mutually-beneficial" as everyone takes what he needs. Moreover, a clear-cut line between the politicians and businessmen can hardly be drawn.
In the United States, many politicians constantly "rotate" between their official jobs and business careers. For instance, they would open consulting companies to provide the so-called "strategic advices" for corporations after their retirement from public services.
The New York Times pointed out that these statesmen have functioned as bridges between the Washington-based governmental departments and benefit clusters, in selling their abilities of establishing connections.
If these officials have begun to make preparations for a future profitable job while still in office, they would probably be induced to make unjustifiable decisions.
The astonishing alliance between those in power and lobby groups in the K Street in Washington is more noteworthy. However, it has been taken as granted by those in the American political circles.
The K Street, in the north of the White House and nicknamed the center of the "fourth power", groups tens of thousands of lobbyists who can influence policymakers of the country. The Observer newspaper in the United Kingdom bombarded it as one of the most corrupt places in the world.
Not only can these lobbyists influence the roadmap of the biggest developed country in the world, they can also turn into policymakers themselves, and vice versa.
According to statistics, around 2,200 U.S. ex-government employees had taken part in lobby groups from 1998 to 2006, among whom over 200 were ex-congressmen and formal leaders of government departments.
Against such backdrop, the fact that Hillary has asked for sky-high prices for presenting speeches is indeed no news at all. Her financial report before her announcement of presidential campaign showed that she had already garnered 1.5 million U.S. dollars in this regard.
Moreover, it's reported that while Hillary was serving as a secretary of state, the U.S. Department of State had acted favorably toward the donors of the Clinton Foundation. But if Trump grasps the presidential power one day, one can hardly imagine things would change for the better.
Rome is not built in a day. The revolving door between power and money in the United Stated indicates that it has been deeply-rooted in the political system itself, which determines it's no easy job to address it.
