> The Transparency International index is based off of a survey of residents asking questions about perceived corruption That's very convenient for the US, and

> The Transparency International index is based off of a survey of residents asking questions about perceived corruption That's very convenient for the US, and why it managed to avoid being #1 on the list. In India a small businessman gets annoyed that he has to pay a $20 bribe to have an operating license issued, but it works. He will tell Transparency Intlt that bribery is rampant. In the US there is no bribe a small business owner can pay to make his business work because the multinational billion dollar corporation with offices on Wall Street, D.C, and every other major city has paid off the legislators and had them introduce laws that introduce a barrier to entry that no small business could ever scale. The US small business owner will honestly tell Transparency Intl that he's never had to bribe anyone. opensecrets.org