Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Economist Magazine: Chicago: America's Capital of Corruption

And it's been imported to the Feds.  It's also interesting that the top 3 most corrupt states are perhaps the three most diverse 'progressive' states in the nation.  What is it about deep, pervasive government intervention that leads to high levels of corruption?  Actually, this ties in with public choice theory which posits that highly diverse polities with heavily interventionist governments will be less efficient and more corrupt because the goals of the various groups are so diverse.  By contrast, heavy state intervention works better (Minnesota, Denmark) in smaller places where everyone has the same culture - the socialized decisions meet a greater proportion of people's needs and therefore there is less conflict and graft.

It's all so progressive.

THE ECONOMIST ON CHICAGO: The Capital Of Corruption. “Although Chicago is the capital of corruption, the state of Illinois as a whole ranks only third in the country—after the much more populous states of New York and California. But the report documents a pattern of crime that has become synonymous with the Chicago or Illinois ‘way’ of doing things. All the corrupt governors and 26 of the aldermen had tried to extract bribes from builders, developers, business owners and those seeking to do business with the city or the state. Those who paid bribes either assumed, or were told, that payment was necessary for zoning changes, building permits or any other government action.”

No comments:

Post a Comment