Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 844, Dealing with Corrupt Officials.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 844.
© transcript Emily Beynon.
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This episode is a dialogue between Vera and Kago about...
Government officials, government workers who aren't honest.
Let's get started.
I can't believe that Stan has been arrested.
I know that he wasn't always on the up and up, but he's being accused of influence peddling and taking bribes.
Stan has been getting kickbacks for years.
Everybody knew that if you wanted to get what you wanted from this department, you had to grease Stan's palms.
There isn't a more corrupt official than Stan.
But he was always so nice to me.
That was part of the problem.
He was always good to his friends and family.
That's why he's also known for his nepotism and cronyism.
He gave friends and family plum jobs with big salaries.
He had an entire good old boy network.
Do you really think he'll go to jail?
I'm sure of it.
On second thought.
If he can find a judge who's on the take and is as corrupt as he is, he has a fighting chance.
Vera begins by saying To be arrested, A-R-R-E-S-T-E-D means that the police take you from your home or your work or wherever you are, Usually because you have done something wrong.
If you break a law, if you do something illegal, you can be arrested or taken by the police.
Vera says, But he's being accused of influence peddling and taking bribes.
On the up and up is an expression meaning to be completely honest, not to be hiding anything, not to be lying or stealing.
To be on the up and up.
You're being honest.
You're being sincere.
Vera says Stan wasn't always on the up and up, meaning he wasn't always honest, but but he's being accused of influence peddling and taking bribes.
To be accused of something is for other people to say that you have done something wrong.
The police say that you broke the law, or your sister-in-law says that you didn't wash the dishes as you had promised.
You are being accused of something.
Someone else is saying that you did something wrong.
Vera's friend, I guess, Stan, is being accused of influence peddling.
Influence peddling is using your personal or professional connections with government officials usually government officials, it could be other officials in order to get them to make decisions that favor you.
So let's say you own a large construction company.
You build buildings.
You build bridges and roads.
And you have a friend who works for the government.
Well, you take this friend to dinner.
You maybe send him and his family on a vacation.
You give him a new car.
You're trying to use your connection with that person to influence his decision, because he's going to decide who gets the new government position work, government contract to work on say, building a new road.
He gives you the contract because you have been using your influence, you have been influence peddling.
Influence peddling doesn't mean in all cases you've given the person money.
However, If you give someone money, that's called a bribe B-R-I-B-E, which might be part of your influence peddling, I would suppose
A bribe is money given to someone illegally to do something or unethically to do something.
I should mention that the word bribe Peddling is from the verb to pedal, which in this case means to sell.
So we talk about someone peddling something.
We mean they're out selling it, often on the street to people who are walking by.
Influence peddling is, in a way, selling your influence or using your influence to have a decision made in a certain way.
Kago says Stan has been getting kickbacks for years.
Kickbacks, K-I-C-K-B-A-C-K-S.
One word is money that you secretly pay someone in return for the help you got to sell something or to get a contract or to get an opportunity.
Typically, a kickback is when, for example...
I work for a bank and I agree to give you a loan.
I agree to give you money to help with your business.
But I say to you, well, if I give you this loan, you have to give me $500.
Just me, not the bank.
In other words, you're doing something that the bank isn't giving you permission to do.
That's a kickback when you ask for something back, usually in a business transaction in the case of buying or selling something.
Kegel says everyone knew that if you wanted to get what you wanted from this department, this government department, you had to grease up.
Someone's palms, P-A-L-M-S, means to give them a bribe.
It's an expression meaning to give money to someone illegally in order to get something done.
So if you give a government official money in order to get a contract or permission to do something, that would be greasing that person's palms, whoever you gave the money to,
Cagle says everybody knew that if you wanted to get what you wanted from this department, you had to grease Stan's palms.
There isn't a more corrupt official than Stan.
Corrupt, C-O-R-R-U-P-T, is dishonest.
Someone who, for example, takes money, takes bribes in exchange for certain favors, certain influence.
That would be a corrupt official, a corrupt leader.
Vera says, but he was always so nice to me.
Cagle says that was part of the problem.
He was always good to his friends and family.
That's why he's also known for his nepotism and cronyism.
Nepotism, N-E-P-O-T-I-S-M, means giving jobs to your family members, especially government jobs.
Nepotism is illegal in most places.
You can't just give your brother a job if you work in the government because he's your brother.
If he's the most qualified or best person, then that might be okay.
Nepotism however, is giving your close family members, your brother-in-law, your sister-in-law, your cousin, a job in typically, the government, although it might be in another organization.
Cronyism, C-R-O-N-Y-I-S-M, means doing the same thing but for your friends.
That is giving jobs to your friends or other people because they are your friends, not because they are good at what they do.
So nepotism is what we would call favoritism for your relatives.
Cronyism is favoritism for your friends.
Favoritism means giving favors or doing something good for that person just because they have that certain connection.
Cago says he gave friends and family plum jobs with big salaries.
A plum job is a very desirable job, a well-paying job, a good job, one of the best jobs in the organization.
Plum is a fruit that you eat.
I have to think yes, plum is a fruit that you eat from a tree, but the expression plum job means a very good job.
Kago says he had an entire good old boy network.
The expression good old boy is is one that refers to a group of typically men who have very strong personal and professional relationships.
And usually when there is something to be done, they give that work to people in their own group.
The word network just means a group of people.
Usually, when we say a good old boy network, we mean a group of white men who are not allowing women or those who are minorities to be part of their circle and to get the same kind of treatment as those in their own good old boy network.
Vera says, do you really think he'll go to jail?
We're talking about Stan here.
Jail, J-A-I-L, is the same as prison.
Kago says, I'm sure of it.
Then he says, on second thought, if he can find a judge who's on the take and is as corrupt as he is.
He has a fighting chance.
On second thought is a phrase we use when we want to change our opinion, change something about what we just said.
So Cagle starts by saying that he's sure that Stan will go to jail.
Then he changes his opinion.
He says, on second thought...
If he can find a judge who's on the take and is as corrupt as he is, he has a fighting chance.
To be on the take T-A-K-E means that you are receiving bribes, that people are paying you money illegally to do things.
To have a fighting chance means that there is a possibility of you winning.
It's going to be difficult, but it is possible.
What Kago is saying here is that if Stan can find another government official, a judge, who will accept bribes, he might be able to avoid going to jail.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
I can't believe that Stan has been arrested.
I know that he wasn't always on the up and up, but he's being accused of influence peddling and taking bribes.
Stan has been getting kickbacks for years.
Everybody knew that if you wanted to get what you wanted from this department, you had to grease Stan's palms.
There isn't a more corrupt official than Stan.
But he was always nice to me.
That was part of the problem.
He was always good to his friends and family.
That's why he's also known for his nepotism and cronyism.
He gave friends and family plum jobs with big salaries.
He had an entire good old boy network.
Do you really think he'll go to jail?
I'm sure of it.
On second thought.
If he can find a judge who's on the take and is as corrupt as he is, he has a fighting chance.
Our scriptwriter is a very honest person, always on the up and up.
That's our wonderful Dr. Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us again, please, here on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2012 by the Center for Educational Development.
