I never considered the freedom of keeping more of what I earned, a bribe. Trump has to start someplace. He knows to operate a business, requires a profit. Taxation/mandates and regulations are the core of what forces US companies to flee US for cheap labor.
If the laws says you’re supposed to hand over X, and then somebody says “well if you do this we’ll shave some off of X” that’s a bribe.
The big problem here is really that everybody is acting like this is some massive win, with headlines saying Carrier isn’t leaving. Over half the jobs ARE STILL LEAVING. This was at best a draw. Some of Carrier is staying, which is nice, but they’re still mostly leaving. And only time will tell which jobs are leaving. If the high paying jobs leave while the low wage jobs stay it’s not even a draw, and if the jobs that stay wind up with no back fill so when people leave they don’t get replaced it’s still a loss.
I’m not saying the move was bad. I’m saying the backslapping congratulations are bad.