Open corruption is not like Open Source, where you can see everything, it just adds to the non-obvious publicly hidden corruption.
Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread
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Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread
#382In the 2026 Transparency International ranking of corruption, the U.S. sits behind nations such as Uruguay, Lithuania, and the United Arab Emirates.
That doesn't mean anything. All those countries are quite small compared to US in every aspect. If you want to compare then pick a country as big as size and population like US.
Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread
#383Corruption in the US isn't new, but it's never been done as openly as it has been recently. I don't think it's a good thing. It shows that the government isn't concerned about what the public thinks, which suggests that they believe they no longer have to be. That's not a healthy sign for what's supposed to be a democracy.
The purpose of DOGE was to get rid of everyone in government who was concerned about what the public thinks.
Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread
#384Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well it’s almost certainly not just more open. But also more common and more intense. There is 100% absolutely no possible comparison to Trump’s personal acts of corruption in any prior White House ever.
Trump is bad, but please let's not excuse corporate neoliberal dems that are totally fine with insider trading, legalized bribes, and are quite proud that their consultant campaign workers get lucrative gigs at corporations/boards due to insider access. I mean we have people like Gillibrand that are openly in bed with the crypto industry while somehow decrying what Trump is doing. Feels like they're upset that Trump…
What is this argument really? Comparing one man’s corruption to a whole party with decades of history. “Honey my cheating on you is bad but look at this man Trump with decades of public philandering.” Whataboutism at its finest.
Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread
#385> Americans’ perceptions of government corruption in the U.S. are at their highest level in 20 years, with 89% of U.S
The important keyword is "perception". It's not a measure or backed by any facts. People can have various opinions and due to the extreme polarized influence by the media democrats might think that Trump's government is the most corrupt ever and republicans believe otherwise.
The headline might as well be Record-High 89% in U.S says Santa Clause is not real.
Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread
#38689% only think that?
Wanna talk about the enrichment of US politicans? Not just the Trump and the Pelosi but also a serious discussion about the net worth of, say, the Obama, Ilhan Omar and Kamala Harris, etc.?
And the argument: "But they only made millions, while Trump made billions" ain't a valid one. It's not "better" if you only manage to steal less: you're still a thief. A less successful thief, but still just a petty thief.
Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread
#387Earlier quoted context omitted.
What can a single person legally do about corruption though?
The big cheap lever that everyone has is voting, and using whatever social leverage you have to get people around you to change their vote. Primary legacy democrats. In NYC, the primary was the real election. Then vote in the replacement Democrat. Replace any Republican in any elected positions, then start taking a closer look at the local D machine.
Maybe if they don't like the results of the elections, they'll hold new ones until the "good" result comes out (true story, happened in Romania (a EU country) two years ago).
Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread
#388Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is correct. That is why I changed from independent to an actual political party. There is no point, it is highly improbable that I would ever vote for the party that is against my values. The two main US political parties are diametrically opposed.
So, vote for a third party. If you don't actually like the candidate you vote for, you're engaging in political negligence. When I vote, I almost never vote for a Republican or Democrat candidate because they are, by and large, not people I want representing me. So I vote for someone I do want representing me.
Voting 3rd party is throwing away your vote in the US electoral system. The reason is structural. Currently, I believe there are two independent senators and one independent representative. Independents are not another party they are just unenrolled and they all caucus with one of the two major parties. There is no third party representation in congress.
Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread
#389Corruption in the US isn't new, but it's never been done as openly as it has been recently. I don't think it's a good thing. It shows that the government isn't concerned about what the public thinks, which suggests that they believe they no longer have to be. That's not a healthy sign for what's supposed to be a democracy.
Saying “US corruption isn’t new” is a truism. There are probably isolated incidents, and many unproven theories, but everyone is quick to agree with this statement because it’s a common feeling everyone has now for some reason. The reality of corruption is likely much smaller and more boring than people think. What we’re witnessing now is what should be called corruption. That corruption that everyone has been scream…
When people say that US corruption is nothing new, they aren't condoning it, they're (in every case I've seen) drawing exactly the contrast you are making - it was like this before, but now it's so much worse!
Corruption was not isolated incidents and unproven theories before, there have been corruption scandals throughout US history and even similarly flagrant actions earlier in the US (read about the "robber barons" of the industrial era, the early figures in long-lived political dynasties like the Bushes or Kennedys or the history of organized crime groups like the Irish or Italian Mobs). Political machines built on graft and money laundering were just thought to be something of history books because nobody pays attention when things are going well and the past century has been pretty great for US citizens overall. We've come to dominate the world militarily and economically, righted historical wrongs and corrected contradictions in our society, and achieved a level of global cultural and political influence that is truly unprecedented in history. Now, we are probably going to go through another few tumultuous round of reforms and changes just as previously happened.
Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread
#390Earlier quoted context omitted.
The big cheap lever that everyone has is voting, and using whatever social leverage you have to get people around you to change their vote. Primary legacy democrats. In NYC, the primary was the real election. Then vote in the replacement Democrat. Replace any Republican in any elected positions, then start taking a closer look at the local D machine.
Democratic Party primaries "Many of the most damaging emails suggest the committee was actively trying to undermine Bernie Sanders's presidential campaign. Basically all of these examples came late in the primary -- after Hillary Clinton was clearly headed for victory -- but they belie the national party committee's stated neutrality in the race even at that late stage." https://web.archive.org/web/20190630070810/htt…
One could argue the DNCs flagrant corruption was a contributor to the current situation