While it is true that you don’t typically have to bribe your postman to deliver the mail in the US, in many key ways America’s political and financial practices make it in absolute terms far more corrupt than the usual global South suspects. After all, the US economy is worth over $16 trillion a year, so in our corruption a lot more money changes hands.
1. Instead of having short, publicly-funded political campaigns with limited and/or free advertising (as a number of Western European countries do), the US has long political campaigns in which candidates are dunned big bucks for advertising. They are therefore forced to spend much of their time fundraising, which is to say, seeking bribes. All American politicians are basically on the take, though many are honorable people. They are forced into it by the system. House Majority leader John Boehner has actually just handed out cash on the floor of the House from the tobacco industry to other representatives.
When French President Nicolas Sarkozy was defeated in 2012, soon thereafter French police actually went into his private residence searching for an alleged $50,000 in illicit campaign contributions from the L’Oreale heiress. I thought to myself, seriously? $50,000 in a presidential campaign? Our presidential campaigns cost a billion dollars each! $50,000 is a rounding error, not a basis for police action. Why, George W. Bush took millions from arms manufacturers and then ginned up a war for them, and the police haven’t been anywhere near his house.
American politicians don’t represent “the people.” With a few honorable exceptions, they represent the the 1%. American democracy is being corrupted out of existence.
Ten ways the U.S. is the most corrupt country in the world
Cole, “The US military budget is bloated and enormous…” Fact: We give billions of dollars to the Israeli military every year. Fact:There is $1 billion dollars worth of US military armaments stored in Israel. Yet, Israel says to us and the world: Fu** You. We will kill who we want, when we want and for as long as we want. Including children. We will justify that slaughter by telling the world and the US that even though those are Israeli bombs and rockets (made in America) killing Palestinian children and women, those deaths are the fault of Hamas. Talk about corruption, vote buying and propaganda (AIPAC) in politics. NOTE: “Zionist liberal” is an oxymoron.