![The events in America on May 11, 2018, that helped drain the swamp. - [Image by Prawny | Pixabay]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2018/5/12/660x290/b_502x220x82/the-events-in-america-may-11-2018-that-helped-drain-the-swamp-image-by-prawny-pixabay_1984367.jpg "The events in America on May 11, 2018, that helped drain the swamp. - [Image by Prawny | Pixabay]")
Welcome to another edition of Draining the Swamp Daily Digest. This is a daily highlight reel of three stories that are helping to drain the swamp. This can occur in the political or business realm. Draining the swamp means to remove or change an action that does not benefit members of society. An example could be removing a Chief Executive Officer from power or arresting someone for crimes against humanity. Sometimes we forget what is happening around us, that we do not even pay attention to it. These articles highlight those changes. The following is three events that happen today, May 11, 2018.
Reports by Reuters and the New York Times were used as resources for this article.
Draining the swamp: Sheldon Silver guilty
Sheldon Silver was found guilty today of seven counts including honest services mail fraud and money laundering. He was the former speaker of the New York State Assembly. One of the most powerful politicians in the state of New York. He was using his office to get referrals and a percentage of the profits. For example, he gave a doctor a grant to research mesothelioma and would get money for referrals from the doctor. He was using his office to garner favors for a fee.
Sheldon Silver was voted into office to help the people of New York. Instead, he used grants from the state to line his own pockets.
He is facing over 100 years in prison. Companies that were doing business with him were afraid to say anything. He could ruin them because of his political power. This was his second trial. The first one was disallowed because the Judge gave the jurors the wrong instructions. One of the jurors voted not guilty with tears in her eyes during the current trial.
The case was that strong against him that even people who still believe in him voted him guilty. When politicians know that they will be held accountable, then they will change their behavior.
Draining the swamp: Drug prices
Donald Trump announced that they are trying to lower the price of drugs for Americans. They are trying to create more competition among the drug companies.
Imagine that, trying to create competition in a capitalist market. The whole goal of trying to lower the drug cost is to take out the middleman. Doctors and hospitals will buy their drugs directly from the manufacturer. It is a step in the right direction. There is a lot more that needs to be done. This system has been in place for so long that it will not be able to be fixed overnight. At least there is an attempt to salvage the high cost of healthcare in America.
The best part of the plan is it will be accomplished without congressional approval. We have seen how well the Congress did with Obamacare. They had the chance to end it and could not get it done. If they had the chance, they probably would not approve the reduction of drug prices.
Drain the swamp: Silicon Valley Community Foundation
The Silicon Valley Community Foundation is the second largest foundation in America. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the only one that is larger. Unfortunately, they ran it to ensure that they continue to grow. The foundation solely focused on getting more money and did not worry about how they got it. They did not break any laws. They simply only cared about the money.
They did not care about how they treated their employees. There were multiple complaints about Mari Ellen Loijens and how she treated her employees. In one incident she called one of them a slave. She obviously put her fundraising before ethical treatment of employees.
A boss needs to find the fine line between engaging employees and respecting them.
Too many companies worry about the bottom line. They do not worry about how they are getting there. The goal of this foundation was to become the largest and grow at all cost. They are a charitable organization and you would think the environment would be celebrating the people they help. Their turnover is one of the worst in the industry and the job ratings were well below average. The CEO just kept on encouraging collecting money, ignoring the ratings and the complaints. He claimed that the did not know it was happening. Unfortunately, this is hard to believe, because of multiple complaints.
Today we had a wide variety of items that helped drain the swamp.
It does not take Donald Trump to only drain it. All people in America must help him in achieving this goal. We must stand up and take notice. A lot of times, we just look the other way, when we should open our hearts and tell people that it is wrong. Let us make Donald Trump's campaign slogan a national movement. In order for us to reclaim our freedom, we must speak up. It can be against your local city council, a major corporation in your town, or on a national stage. We must voice our opinion in a respectful, peaceful manner. Together, we can drain the swamp and finally enjoy the freedom we deserve.
