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You want to pay people in positions of power so much money that they are afraid of losing their salary by being caught up in a corruption scandal. This is how

You want to pay people in positions of power so much money that they are afraid of losing their salary by being caught up in a corruption scandal. This is how America got rid of large swaths of police corruption. Go back 100 years and bribing police was trivial, they made so little money that taking bribes was how they kept afloat financially. Now days? An officer making $120k a year isn't going to take a $100 bribe to let a drunk driver go free.

runarberg 4y ago
No, but the same officer will use excessive force and make unwarranted arrests, etc. There is real accountability for a cop that is caught accepting a bribe, there is none for violence. In our current political system a politician has no accountability for accepting favors or campaign funds. There is no accountability for passing bad laws or being corrupt. This behavior will continue regardless of the base salary, or at least until there are repercussions against it. Currently there are none.
LordDragonfang 4y ago
>Go back 100 years [...] they made so little money that taking bribes was how they kept afloat financially. Hell, even today that's still the case in many countries with a large number of underpaid public servants - specifically China, where extorting bribes is considered a perk of the job. Contrast to Singapore, which pays its members of parliament 3x the median household income and is tied for second place on the (lowest) Corruption Perception Index. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBBre3bpvyk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBBre3bpvyk
hgomersall 4y ago
First you need to make the corruption illegal.
- tobylane 4y ago
  And enforce it with an office that won’t get defunded by someone who can delay their corruption by a year or so. I believe Singapore solved this, but can multi party systems copy them?
- kelnos 4y ago
  Making things illegal, or, rather, enforcing those laws, is an uphill battle if you don't also structure the incentives in such a way that it's easier to follow them than to break them. Also what does "make corruption illegal" even mean? Corruption takes many forms, and there will always be loopholes through which the most savvy can escape legal repercussions. I would much rather structure things so not being corrupt is just the easier, better, more natural choice. That's also not easy, but sounds more achievable to me.

runarberg 4y ago

No, but the same officer will use excessive force and make unwarranted arrests, etc. There is real accountability for a cop that is caught accepting a bribe, there is none for violence. In our current political system a politician has no accountability for accepting favors or campaign funds. There is no accountability for passing bad laws or being corrupt. This behavior will continue regardless of the base salary, or at least until there are repercussions against it. Currently there are none.

LordDragonfang 4y ago

>Go back 100 years [...] they made so little money that taking bribes was how they kept afloat financially. Hell, even today that's still the case in many countries with a large number of underpaid public servants - specifically China, where extorting bribes is considered a perk of the job. Contrast to Singapore, which pays its members of parliament 3x the median household income and is tied for second place on the (lowest) Corruption Perception Index. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBBre3bpvyk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBBre3bpvyk

hgomersall 4y ago

First you need to make the corruption illegal.

tobylane 4y ago
And enforce it with an office that won’t get defunded by someone who can delay their corruption by a year or so. I believe Singapore solved this, but can multi party systems copy them?
kelnos 4y ago
Making things illegal, or, rather, enforcing those laws, is an uphill battle if you don't also structure the incentives in such a way that it's easier to follow them than to break them. Also what does "make corruption illegal" even mean? Corruption takes many forms, and there will always be loopholes through which the most savvy can escape legal repercussions. I would much rather structure things so not being corrupt is just the easier, better, more natural choice. That's also not easy, but sounds more achievable to me.