It's corrupt in ways that are different than most people think when they hear "corrupt". The us largely isn't a place where people in power (e g. Police) extort

It's corrupt in ways that are different than most people think when they hear "corrupt". The us largely isn't a place where people in power (e g. Police) extort people to do their job nor does paying the right (low level) people (directly) get you something that would otherwise be held up. The US is corrupt in its complacency. Most people are fine with most things and largely don't have the time or ability to care about the rest. It's easy for regulatory bodies to turn to the industries they regulate for expertise, and it's easy for that to turn into the turnstile we have today. It's also easy for this not to matter to most people until it becomes a problem, and at that point it's hard to fix without political will.