MasterCaneman -> RE: The World Is Getting More Corrupt (7/12/2013 8:40:05 AM)
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I'll agree that with the social media available now, corruption is more visible, which makes the question of 'is it more corrupt' more difficult to prove. In Zonie63's observation of the neighborhoods around DC and heavier time given for convictions, I don't think it'd deter many who are in the 'system'. I can only make my case based on what I know of the corrupt practices here in WNY, Utah, and Wyoming (and to a lesser extent Colorado, Nevada, and Idaho). Many of the offenders are born into the system, the children of the cops, politicians, and union members who make their 'sides' taking payola. I don't say this lightly: because of the extracurricular activities of a few high-ranking members of a local union here in the late '70s, my family had to rapidly pick up and move many states away. And my dad never stopped looking over his shoulder until the day he died. We suffered, they got houses in Florida, fancy cars and boats, and a never-ending roll of cash. Proving corruption has been made hard for a reason: the very people who write the laws are often the ones benefiting the most from making it hard to prove. A small-business owner usually doesn't have the resources to weather the fallout from reporting a dishonest inspector or cop. If they don't slip the health inspector a "birthday card", they'll find an orange sticker on their window. Right or wrong, it takes time and money to make that go away, and customers remember things like that. The same goes for the cops. They'll usually not bother "normal" businesses, because the fallout from that can be disastrous, but bars, clubs, and restaurants that serve alcohol seem to be fair game. Because those businesses have to pay ludicrous amounts for liability insurance, every time there's a reported 911 call, it can factor into their bottom line. But Officer Friendly can help you out, for a small donation to the PBA, as it were...That's how problem bars stay open, and if something really bad happens, the owners know better than to speak up. I know I've reduced it to smaller terms, but a lot of little drops eventually fills a bucket. And there are cities and neighborhoods were it's more prevalent, and not all cops, politicians, and building inspectors are crooked. But enough are to make life harder for the rest of us in the form of higher prices, taxes, and other costs that arise when the 'rules' aren't enforced properly.
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