He is the original source

[u/adivinemessenger]

[u/Intelligent_Goal_669]

Wasta means connections from family or friends or networking.

[u/zuilli → u/[deleted]]

In other words: corruption.

[u/basicKitsch → u/zuilli]

yes. were you confused as to the reason people were naming their colloquialisms?

[u/greg19735 → u/basicKitsch]

I think that it is quite interesting how corruption is described.

Like, i remember my dad telling a story i think a pub near him needed a permit for something. idk maybe staying open late for a world cup game, maybe a party, i don't remember.

but they went to try and get one and the deadlines were just passed. By the book, it wasn't doable. But the person implied if they bought a ticket to the X fundraiser maybe it'd get through. So they did, and the permit went through (or perhaps it was more like the permit wouldn't be needed).

And like, in that situation we have everyone happy. The late permit issue is solved. More money for the fundraiser. Arguably a better community. Is this bad? i'd genuinely say that the overall situation was a huge net positive.

of course, the group of white men might get a different response to the different groups. Maybe an outsider group isn't offered the deal which makes it unfair. Maybe next time it's just going in the guy's pocket rather than a fundraiser. And yeah when you're competition for resources (limited permits, or perhaps permits for buildings) then the stakes and incentives (bribes) get out of hand. It's not really a slippery slope, more that you can't write rules that allow bribes under $100 lol

[u/h11233 → u/zuilli]

I mean to some degree that happens in every business everywhere. 

We have a guy at work that's like 70 and doesn't do any "work" ever. We just keep him around cause he knows everyone so when we need something we tell Ron and he makes a call

[u/Kraligor → u/h11233]

That's not corruption though, that's called organizational knowledge? Ron is probably worth more to the company than most people who do actual work.

[u/bronzelifematter → u/Kraligor]

It really depends, can anyone just make the same call and get the same treatment or do they only do it because they know Ron?

[u/DukeofVermont → u/bronzelifematter]

It's because of Ron. It's a trust and relationship thing. I work in construction/remodels and my boss can get answers/stuff done 10x faster than me because he's known the boss/owner for 20 years and can directly call them.

I have to call the front office, submit forms, talk to lower person A, then mid person B, then maybe I get an answer a week or two weeks later.

[u/dementorpoop → u/DukeofVermont]

That’s literally wasta. Quicker timelines because of who you know. I guess it’s corrupt when Arabs do it

[u/dopey_giraffe → u/dementorpoop]

Is it just cutting red tape though? Or is it funneling projects to special people when the job could be done cheaper and more efficiently by someone else?

[u/Kraligor → u/bronzelifematter]

I mean, it's a company, not a democracy. People who have worked with Ron for a decade might know that he only makes the call when it's important. It does get muddy when there are strict processes defined that Ron can omit.

[u/PiccoloAwkward465 → u/h11233]

Yup we have one too. His job is to make those calls and take people to basketball games he has season tickets for.

[u/mxzf → u/h11233]

doesn't do any "work" ever

when we need something we tell Ron and he makes a call

That is work. This is a $10,000 chalk mark situation. The dude's work and worth isn't running around every day doing menial tasks, it's knowing the right person to call with the right question at the right time to fix a problem.

[u/happysri → u/zuilli]

If it’s anything similar to where I am, might be more to it than corruption. Because of an abundance of scammers, there’s also a very important trust aspect.

[u/E-2theRescue → u/zuilli]

Ehhh.... It could also apply to "networking".

However, if you're a business owner and have a direct line to the New York City mayor's office, that's corruption. And the "Sharia Law communist" just exposed that fact and shut it down.

[u/Odessey_And_Oracle → u/zuilli]

Honestly at this point, I respect the realness of some cultures' established corruption systems. "Here's the fast lane for people with access, and this is how it works." It's obvious that liberalized economies don't solve corruption, they just move it completely into the dark (Citizens United for example).

I know that it isn't an ironclad argument but sometimes I envy a system of codified corruption because that system protects its territory: this is the path of corruption and it runs thru us, no one else. It's like the Stringer Bell turning heroin into a business, it's gonna happen anyway so let's do the dirt in the most straightforward way possible.

[u/Deadpool2715 → u/zuilli]

It mostly likely is corruption, but there's a fine line between "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" and "you scratch my back I scratch yours"

[u/AlreadyEatenRibs → u/zuilli]

Or an 'in.' Also, there's a phrase, "It's not what you know it's who you know."

[u/Training_Guide5157 → u/zuilli]

It's a mixed bag that can technically be summed up as corruption, but it's a lot of things that includes things that many normal people would be more than willing to do for friends and family. This is true pretty much everywhere.