The nation’s largest bribery scandal is playing out in real time, a brazen act of collaboration between government and a powerful corporation. This epidemic spans across cities large and small, in red states and blue states, in rural communities and established metropolises; it’s also happening in Washington, D.C., but incredibly doesn’t involve Donald Trump. Thousands of public officials are implicated, and they haven’t been particularly quiet about it. In fact, many of the attempted bribes are on video.

We won’t see a flurry of public corruption trials in this case, because the bribery has become accepted as a normal part of economic development. But the embarrassing orgy of corporate welfare directed recently at Amazon, for the privilege of hosting its new corporate headquarters, ought to be illegal. It’s a shakedown by a $500-billion company that’s pitting communities—out of desperation for jobs or prestige—against one another in a bleak competition. The gambit doesn’t even deliver the promised boon for localities, but officials have been so seduced by bad economics and threats of abandonment that paying corporate tithes has become a leading government service.

Earlier this fall, Amazon announced it would build a second headquarters (known as HQ2) and asked cities to submit requests for proposal. Amazon promised $5 billion in capital expenditures from the project, and that the headquarters would host 50,000 workers making an average of more than $100,000 per year.

Like any company, Amazon had preferences for a new location: a large population center with high quality of life, an educated labor force, and access to airport, highway, and mass transit infrastructure. But Amazon also told cities, “A stable and business-friendly environment and tax structure will be high-priority considerations for the Project. Incentives offered by the state/province and local communities to offset initial capital outlay and ongoing operational costs will be significant factors in the decision-making process.” The RFP spells out the incentives Amazon wants: tax abatements, land grants, workforce training funds, sales tax exemptions, permitting waivers, or fee reductions.

“As this is a competitive Project,” the RFP concludes, “Amazon welcomes the opportunity to engage with you in the creation of an incentive package, real estate opportunities, and cost structure to encourage the company’s location of the Project in your state/province.”