Final answer:
a. true. The statement about a government official sponsoring a bill that benefits their own farm is a true example of a conflict of interest, as personal gain may influence public duties.
Step-by-step explanation:
An example of a potential conflict of interest in government would occur if a government official sponsored a bill that would provide extra farm subsidies to dairy farmers while his/her family owns a farm that would benefit from such legislation. The correct answer to this is true. This situation exemplifies how personal interests can conflict with public duties, a core issue when addressing ethical governance. Legislators are often faced with challenges in balancing the concerns of their constituents with potential personal interests.
In decisions such as pork-barrel spending, concentrated benefits to a local area might come at the expense of the larger populace. This type of spending, while benefiting a specific political district directly, spreads the costs across the entire country. Similarly, tradeoffs happen when legislators must navigate competing interests, such as the need for jobs versus environmental preservation or the influence of political party leadership versus the will of constituents.