tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post7493853878446523944..comments2024-01-03T05:23:36.046-08:00Comments on The Citizens: Amen and Thank GoodnessUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-1776262471145751942011-03-05T13:07:59.408-08:002011-03-05T13:07:59.408-08:00"(corruption) Index at 8 before it's too ..."(corruption) Index at 8 before it's too late!"<br />:-)Raised By Republicanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03461006522141969925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-91633894511866767792011-03-05T09:43:34.297-08:002011-03-05T09:43:34.297-08:00True that!
But I would like to see the US in the ...True that!<br /><br />But I would like to see the US in the eights!<br /><br />I have high standards. It doesn't happen over night!USwestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-88419996192725538062011-03-04T11:41:36.299-08:002011-03-04T11:41:36.299-08:00Of course the policies proposed by Walker and othe...Of course the policies proposed by Walker and other Republican governors are a transparent attempt by them to use the financial crises of their states as an excuse to settle old political scores with organized labor and to rig future competitions with organized labor in favor of the Republicans. <br /><br />US West is also absolutely correct that failure to properly compensate civil servants is probably a significant factor in the decision of individual civil servants to solicit or accept bribes. <br /><br />And US West is absolutely correct to point out that corruption of both the outright criminal sort and the "lack of basic integrity" sort is far more common in the private sector than in the democratically accountable (and more closely overseen and regulated) public sector. <br /><br />However, long before we get to the point were financial necessity encourages public sector employees to engage in corruption here in the US, slipping pay and benefits for public employees will lead to such an erosion of the quality of public services that most Americans would find it intolerable. Hopefully, long before that happens, right thinking citizens like ourselves will convince majorities of our neighbors to get back on the right track. <br /><br />To put the change in perception of corruption in the US perspective, we need to see where they were before and which countries they are similar to. In the previous ranking the US was 19th. Now it is 22nd. The shift was from 7.5 to 7.1 on a scale of 0-10 (with 10 meaning least corrupt). Certainly worth mentioning but not a huge difference. 7.1 makes the US seem less corrupt on the index than France (6.8), Spain (6.1), Italy (3.9) and most other EU member states. 7.1 is the same score Belgium received (hardly a country with a reputation for a serious corruption problem). The least corrupt EU member state is Denmark with a score of 9.3. The most corrupt EU member state is Greece 3.5 (but Romania and Bulgaria give them a serious challenge). The US is solidly in the range of scores seen in our peer countries (other established democracies). And we're a lot closer to the good end of that range than we are to the bad end. <br /><br />Other interesting comparisons: <br /><br />Russia = 2.1<br />China = 3.5<br />Venezuela = 2<br />Mexico = 3.1<br /><br />Germany = 7.9<br />UK = 7.6<br />Japan = 7.8<br /><br />Again, at 7.1, the US is a lot more like Germany, the UK and Japan than it is like really messed up countries like Greece, Mexico or Russia.Raised By Republicanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03461006522141969925noreply@blogger.com