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Watch this video: https://youtu.be/watch?v=IQtB4KSzSyY https://youtu.be/watch?v=IQtB4KSzSyY This is not about fuel theft but a related crime called fuel smuggl

by from 4y ago

Watch this video: https://youtu.be/watch?v=IQtB4KSzSyY https://youtu.be/watch?v=IQtB4KSzSyY This is not about fuel theft but a related crime called fuel smuggling where they buy subsidized gasoline and then illegally export it to neighboring countries (the government bans this to prevent exactly this kind of arbitrage). If you watch the video they actually follow along with a fuel smuggler, pay bribes (only $1-2 each) at several checkpoints, and just proceed as usual. The checkpoints exist just to facilitate bribe collection! Later in the video they mention that if you go frequently enough you can get some kind of pass or placard on your car so that you only have to pay once per month. This kind of bribery at every level of government does not exist in any first world country. Yes, politicians in most first world countries take campaign contributions from big companies but that is way different than quid pro quo bribery schemes where padded contracts are literally doled out based on who gives a bigger bribe. If you offered food inspectors in America or Australia $500 to ignore violations some might say OK but most would say fuck off. I'm not saying this kind of thing is inherent to Nigeria either -- rampant bribery existed in every major city in America in the 1800 and early 1900s but basically went away due to a persistent effort by good-government reformers, Protestants, and aggressive prosecutors. I don't know about Australia specifically but it seems most countries that are not corrupt today have taken a similar path.

pydry 4y ago
>This kind of bribery at every level of government does not exist in any first world country. I'm acutely aware of what corruption is like there, thanks. I got shaken down by corrupt cops just outside of Ikeja three weeks ago. Unlike Nigeria, first world countries have functioning economies that don't pale into insignificance compared to whatever resource extraction they do. This is the key difference you missed. Where resource wealth doesn't overwhelm everything else, the effect of the curse is lower. Nonetheless, resources are still a curse for the first world even when they dont overwhelm their entire economy. For homework I suggest you contrast Oklahoma and Texas politics to those of New York and Washington State.
- from 4y ago
  > Nonetheless, resources are still a curse for the first world even when they dont overwhelm their entire economy. For homework I suggest you contrast Oklahoma and Texas politics to those of New York and Washington State. New York had the largest political machine and patronage system in the country for several decades (Tammany). Eric Adams' term has had scandal after scandal (https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/02/eric-adams-scandals.html https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/02/eric-adams-scandals...., https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/05/nyregion/eric-adams-petrosyants-nyc-restaurant.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/05/nyregion/eric-adams-petro...). Illinois has plenty of corrupt politics despite having very few natural resources (4 of the past 7 governors there have gone to jail): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago-style_politics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago-style_politics, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Madigan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Madigan. I don't know the history of Oklahoma or Texas very well but I would say that the bigger issue is that the ability to authorize tens of millions of dollars of spending is placed in the hands of a few unaccountable poorly paid individuals. Natural resources obviously go hand in hand with this because they provide a giant pile of money for people to divert.

by from 4y ago

pydry 4y ago

>This kind of bribery at every level of government does not exist in any first world country. I'm acutely aware of what corruption is like there, thanks. I got shaken down by corrupt cops just outside of Ikeja three weeks ago. Unlike Nigeria, first world countries have functioning economies that don't pale into insignificance compared to whatever resource extraction they do. This is the key difference you missed. Where resource wealth doesn't overwhelm everything else, the effect of the curse is lower. Nonetheless, resources are still a curse for the first world even when they dont overwhelm their entire economy. For homework I suggest you contrast Oklahoma and Texas politics to those of New York and Washington State.

from 4y ago
> Nonetheless, resources are still a curse for the first world even when they dont overwhelm their entire economy. For homework I suggest you contrast Oklahoma and Texas politics to those of New York and Washington State. New York had the largest political machine and patronage system in the country for several decades (Tammany). Eric Adams' term has had scandal after scandal (https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/02/eric-adams-scandals.html https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/02/eric-adams-scandals...., https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/05/nyregion/eric-adams-petrosyants-nyc-restaurant.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/05/nyregion/eric-adams-petro...). Illinois has plenty of corrupt politics despite having very few natural resources (4 of the past 7 governors there have gone to jail): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago-style_politics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago-style_politics, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Madigan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Madigan. I don't know the history of Oklahoma or Texas very well but I would say that the bigger issue is that the ability to authorize tens of millions of dollars of spending is placed in the hands of a few unaccountable poorly paid individuals. Natural resources obviously go hand in hand with this because they provide a giant pile of money for people to divert.