There is a lot of discussion nowadays about corruption in various countries that the U.S. deems worthy of dismissive commentary. The prime example is Venezuela.
And in Venezuela, there is certainly corruption. Sometimes a judge is paid off. Or, in a larger phenomenon, sometimes truckers move gas or milk – both highly subsidized in Venezuela to benefit the poor, across the border into Colombia or Brazil for resale at a profit. Still worse, sometimes low level officials hold the public hostage, requiring payments for services that are supposed to be free. All this and more is quite horrible, and the Venezuelan federal government is working hard to diminish and eliminate it. But, before westerners look down our collective noses at “poor countries" our media disparages as sites of corruption, especially when it is a byproduct of the rich trying to exploit programs designed to benefit the poor, we ought to consider our own selves. Set aside incredible volumes of illegal payoffs for building contracts, inspections, and the like. Indeed, set aside illegal bribes at every level, which I would bet dwarf in scale what occurs in a country like Venezuela. Set aside insurance company non payments and the like, all of which our government largely abets. Consider the following, just one among countless instances of America's legal corruption. P.S. – apologies for the at a the outset – I couldn't strip it.
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