Nepotism is favoritism shown to a relative in conferring office or privilege. The term comes from favoritism shown in church appointments in times past. Nepotism doesn’t depend on :
- Whether an office is a paid position or not.
- Whether the position or privilege is official or informal.
- Whether the office or privilege is well intentioned or not.
Robert Kennedy’s appointment as AG is an example of nepotism as is Hillary Clinton’s appointment to work on health care during the Clinton Administration. Tom Reed taking his wife on overseas junkets confers a privilege on a relative–nepotism. Jared and Ivanka’s appointments in the Trump Administration are further examples.
Whatever other problems nepotism may cause, it certainly isn’t good for organizational morale as explained in the Politico article cited.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/jared-kushner-white-house-influence-236758
New NY 23rd 
Not only is Ivanka unqualified for any government position, she is the wrong choice to be an envoy to China where she exploits cheap labor for her own lines of sales. The conflicts of interest let alone nepotism can go on and on. She has a bachelors degree in economics and zero experience in government. She did not even bother to register to vote until her father ran for office. I fail to see where people claim she is so smart. Anyone else with this lack of resume would never get security clearance. Where is the outrage?
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And yet, except for Ivanka, Donald Trump might be even more under the sway of Bannon and the like.
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With regard to the repugnant issue of nepotism, as with every other, Trump and his administration quickly are setting a profoundly damaging example for our entire society. Nepotism, bribery, dishonesty, greed, narcissism, ignorance, and prejudice already permeate many sectors of American society, and now having Trump in the White House may well reinforce these destructive behaviors to the point that they become general American norms, which indeed they already may well be in the sectors of society where Trump’s support is strongest. Presidents can exemplify the societal norms of a particular period, as some would argue Kennedy or Reagan did, and so can define and legitimize certain forms of conduct. Shamefully for our country, Trump’s presidency (if it even deserves the word) may redefine our societal norms to make unethical, unprofessional, and indeed even criminal behavior more widely accepted.
The damage done, particularly to children, by a president who lies on a continual, compulsive, daily, sometimes hourly, basis is incalculable. Not to mention that done by one who engages in streams of irrational racist, sexist abuse and personal insults and tantrums like a spoiled brat. Now children also will grow up with no model of professional standards at all from their president. His lesson to them is, if you need to hire someone, ignore professional standards and give jobs based on personal connections. Remember Kelly Ayotte? Trump is NOT a role model for children. With Trump and his White House full of greedy, ambitious, ignorant, unethical relatives as role models, nepotism undoubtedly will flourish and permeate new areas of our society.
Although nepotism is widespread in many businesses, in the past it has been curbed in government, science, and education by specific professional standards and anti-nepotism regulations, which, sadly, in recent years increasingly have been violated and ignored . (In higher education, unfortunately, there is a reckless and growing pattern of awarding faculty positions to faculty spouses, sometimes without competitive national job searches, which does a profound disservice not only to legitimate job candidates who happen to lack the advantage of a spouse already on the faculty to which they apply for a job, but especially may harm students, who deserve the best teachers possible, not ones who have received faculty positions because they are someone’s husband or wife.) With nepotism as with other forms of corruption, Trumpism only will fuel the fire, further destroying professional standards, and so reinforcing the general assault being made by Trump Republicans against education, science, medicine, the arts, and indeed all the cultural institutions of American society generally. After all, do they turn a profit?
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As for bribery, On Wednesday February 1, 2017 the House passed H.J. Res. 41, which reverses a rule requiring companies involved in oil, gas or mineral extraction registered in the U.S. to report any payments they make to foreign governments over $100,000. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opposed this roll back, raising concerns that it deepens poverty and empowers “autocratic leaders”. This reversal undermines our democratic principles. UPDATE: The President signed H.J. Res. 41 on February 14, 2017.
http://capuano.house.gov/news/curtain.shtml
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