> governments created an impression that corruption is a marginal problem, that it does not exist. Governments create the impression that small, widespread cor

> governments created an impression that corruption is a marginal problem, that it does not exist. Governments create the impression that small, widespread corruption is the one that counts. The one where you pay a cop to get out of a speeding ticket, or a doctor to get better medical care. They will go out of their way to commission reports that condemn this as the real danger to society while using obscure metrics to support that idea. At the same time they invent a word to use when governments and legislators are involved: lobbying. They write off the corruption happening at high levels even if it's responsible for fundamentally changing how society works in ways that small corruption never could. Laws that weaken the educational system, or employee's rights, that protect corporations, etc. not only are the reason for why most small corruption exists in the first place, they also damage society beyond belief. And the kind of money and favors involved dwarf the GDP of many of those "most corrupt countries in the world". Which is why governments go out of their way to make this look like fair game, it's just lobbying. Getting the "evidence" is next to impossible because of the framework built around this. There are actual laws sending you to prison for giving $50 to a cop to get out of a fine, or the cop for taking it, written by the same people who wrote the law that allows one to pay $50M to a legislator to pass a "favorable" law. Of course there are some nuances that are always the go to for justifying how lobbying isn't bribery but they're all just as solid as saying "beautiful kids, it would be a shame if something... happened to them" is not extortion.