Bribery, if you want to call it that (and I do) generally involved politicians- a few thousand dollars towards a senior State legislator's or Governor's re-election fund could work wonders in keeping your tender butt out of the really unpleasant places...
After all, the sons of the rich were FAR more valuable to society than the rest of us, n'est pas?
I hope you get on the SS Board- and I hope you can resist political influence, in ALL of it's various forms. It is not just money, you know.