>If the "machine" somehow continued to work fine with him not being there for 15 years, why did his position even exist?
Tons of paper pushing positions exist so that politicians and high level appointed bureaucrats can do favors for people whom they owe favors. Someone (like the deadbeat brother of someone who donated to the governor's campaign or whatever, just making up a reasonable example) who could never hold such a well paying job on their own merits will be given a job and as long as they continue to punch the clock (though per TFA that's not a hard requirement in Italy) the will continue to get paid.
> Granlund said the appointment seemed brazen at the time because of the relationship between Harris and Brown. “Screwing the speaker has its rewards,” he said. “Stevie Wonder could have seen through that play.”
I think there's a big difference between sucking your way to the front of the line of qualified applicants for a legitimate job vs jobs that exist simply to be given out for patronage purposes.
IMO getting a job by pulling strings isn't as morally dirty as a job existing for no reason other than to transfer money from the taxpayer to someone with connections.
Tons of paper pushing positions exist so that politicians and high level appointed bureaucrats can do favors for people whom they owe favors. Someone (like the deadbeat brother of someone who donated to the governor's campaign or whatever, just making up a reasonable example) who could never hold such a well paying job on their own merits will be given a job and as long as they continue to punch the clock (though per TFA that's not a hard requirement in Italy) the will continue to get paid.