[postila]

And I understand what you're saying. Similar things are happening when your child goes to school/college/etc. You pay for smth and she/he gets preferences. As I see, it's common both in US and Russia.

But between bribing and things you mentioned there is one essential difference, that changes everything. It's this question:

- Are rules known in advance, are they written and available in public?

I believe this question helps to distinguish black and white.