Thinking in terms of risk is a great way not to take responsibility
for your actions, including your inactions. As soon as you start
thinking about the chances that, overall, you might win or lose from
a transaction, you have begun thinking in terms of your personal
interest. This makes it very difficult to think in terms of the
public interest.<br>
<br>
You have also begun thinking in terms of consequences rather than in
terms of rules. And it is rules, not consequences, that underlie the

According to <a href="http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/gov-corruption-politics-spendi…; target="”_blank”">an
article this week in<i> Governing </i>magazine</a>, a report in <i>Public
Administration Review</i> found that "more corrupt states tended
to spend money on construction, highways, and police protection
programs, which provide more opportunity for corrupt officials to

Many people believe that conflicts of interest are limited to
situations where money is involved. When these people write ethics
laws, as they often do, the law effectively says that where money
isn't involved, any conduct is acceptable.<br>
<br>

For example, Pennsylvania's ethics code, which applies to local
officials, defines "conflict of interest" as follows (emphasis added):<blockquote>

<a>An
investigative piece in yesterday's New York <i>Times</i> </a>raises
an interesting issue regarding complicity in ethical
misconduct:  is there an obligation not to be complicit with
misconduct at a different governmental level when, arguably, that misconduct
financially benefits one's own government?<br>
<br>
According to the article, when Bayonne, NJ was in deep financial
trouble in 2010, with the state talking about bailing it out

Rhode Island's lawmakers really know how to protect themselves. They
have fought hard and long to effectively preserve their immunity from
state ethics commission jurisdiction. However, with pressure on
them to recommend to their constituents a constitutional amendment
that would give the EC jurisdiction over them, despite the state's
Speech in (<i>sic</i>) Debate Clause, they have planted a bomb in
their proposed amendment that will ensure that even the state's good

Good news and bad news about lobbying from New York City's new
mayor. The good news, according to <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/05/8546065/de-blas…; target="”_blank”">a
recent article on the Capital New York website</a>, is that the
mayor has said that his administration will disclose "substantive"

<h4>"Trials are primarily about the truth. Consent decrees are primarily
about pragmatism."</h4><br>
— Second Circuit Court of Appeals in [Link removed] <i>SEC</i>
v. <i>Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.</a>,</i> Nos. 11-5227-cv, 11-5375-cv and 11-5242-cv (2nd Cir., June 4, 2014).<br>
<br>
These words from an important court decision yesterday will most
likely be quoted in all sorts of contexts, including with respect to

<a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/poor-ethics-code-language&quot; target="”_blank”">A
week ago, I wrote</a> about a poorly written provision in Denver's
ethics code, and the danger it poses not only to Denver, but also
elsewhere, since local governments in Colorado and in other
states are apt to look at the ethics code of such a large,
well-respected city (although now that its highness has two

It's been six years since <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/474">I last wrote about how
asset forfeiture</a> is a serious temptation to engage in ethical
misconduct. I was planning to write about it again in light of a

One of the great things about discussions of the conflicts of
interest of people in the securities world is that
"fiduciary duty" is considered the basis for the rules that govern their relationship with government officials and others. In discussions
of the conflicts of interest of those whom they deal with in municipal governments and those who provide other sorts of advice or products to municipal governments, "fiduciary duty" often goes unmentioned.<br>
<br>
I say this as an introduction to a discussion of the Municipal