4 ms·

Dude, look at the ongoing travesty in Washington and tell me again that Slovakia has more prevalent corruption. I'm just not sure I believe it. It's just less

by Vivtek 15y ago

Dude, look at the ongoing travesty in Washington and tell me again that Slovakia has more prevalent corruption. I'm just not sure I believe it. It's just less smooth and more obvious in a small country.

untog 15y ago
Seriously: the influence of big money on US politics is a bad thing. But it's far, far away from the worst corruption out there.
- nextparadigms 15y ago
  Maybe things are still a little better in US, but I wouldn't go as far as saying there's a dramatic difference. The real difference is that a lot of corrupted acts have been made legal in US, while in other countries they are not.
- arethuza 15y ago
  Out of interest, what would you view as "the worst corruption out there"?
  - raquo 15y ago
    Well, like Putin & Co owning/controlling most of Russian enterprises larger than a certain threshold? Oil, machinery, aviation - you name it, they have it. Like not being able to get health care beyond the very basics without spending a fortune in bribes. Like having a price tag on signagures of everyone in parliament/government, or on becoming an MP or the like. Corruption can really be bigger problem than it is in the US, and when quality of life is so low, it becomes a problem of surviving it rather than it being an abstract long term threat to development or something.
    - arethuza 15y ago
      Yes, that is bad. FYI I'm currently in the middle of reading the book "Treasure Islands" about tax havens, which spends a lot of time explaining how these places play a key role in facilitating truly global corruption: http://treasureislands.org/ http://treasureislands.org/
- Vivtek 15y ago
  Granted. I wasn't making that claim, either.
zalew 15y ago
In the US you call it lobbying and you can publish a colorful chart with official data who paid whom what. In eastern Europe it's money passed 'under the table' of which you hear after a few months/years if ever, and cases take years to prove and sentence.
- Vivtek 15y ago
  In the US it is never tried or sentenced. It's simply made law, or laughed about if anybody mentions it.

by Vivtek 15y ago

untog 15y ago

Seriously: the influence of big money on US politics is a bad thing. But it's far, far away from the worst corruption out there.

nextparadigms 15y ago
Maybe things are still a little better in US, but I wouldn't go as far as saying there's a dramatic difference. The real difference is that a lot of corrupted acts have been made legal in US, while in other countries they are not.
arethuza 15y ago
Out of interest, what would you view as "the worst corruption out there"?
- raquo 15y ago
  Well, like Putin & Co owning/controlling most of Russian enterprises larger than a certain threshold? Oil, machinery, aviation - you name it, they have it. Like not being able to get health care beyond the very basics without spending a fortune in bribes. Like having a price tag on signagures of everyone in parliament/government, or on becoming an MP or the like. Corruption can really be bigger problem than it is in the US, and when quality of life is so low, it becomes a problem of surviving it rather than it being an abstract long term threat to development or something.
  - arethuza 15y ago
    Yes, that is bad. FYI I'm currently in the middle of reading the book "Treasure Islands" about tax havens, which spends a lot of time explaining how these places play a key role in facilitating truly global corruption: http://treasureislands.org/ http://treasureislands.org/
Vivtek 15y ago
Granted. I wasn't making that claim, either.

zalew 15y ago

In the US you call it lobbying and you can publish a colorful chart with official data who paid whom what. In eastern Europe it's money passed 'under the table' of which you hear after a few months/years if ever, and cases take years to prove and sentence.

Vivtek 15y ago
In the US it is never tried or sentenced. It's simply made law, or laughed about if anybody mentions it.