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Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

news.gallup.com

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Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#391

Post by ninkendo »

swed420 wrote: post #379
ninkendo wrote: post #358

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No but we do need to go back to the good old days of having like 1/100th the scale of corruption we have now.

Out of curiosity, how far back is this?

Not really interested in getting into a debate here, I’m just pointing out that GGP said “openness and also the scale”, to which you ignored the “scale” part and pretended it’s only about being corrupt in the open versus in private. I can point this out without making a comment at all (although I have my opinions) on whether I agree if the scale has changed.

(To be clear, I absolutely believe the scale has increased tremendously, but arguing about this is gonna be fruitless because it’s all subjective, there’s no hard numbers for any of it, and anything I can point out, you can just say “well that’s because they’re doing it in the open now, they were always doing it”, which is just as unfalsifiable. There’s basically no good outcome to debating this.)

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#392

Post by spicymaki »

technothrasher wrote: post #365
spicymaki wrote: post #45

Earlier 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.

I've never understood why I should join a political party. I mean, yes, I lean pretty heavily toward one of the two major parties in my voting, but what advantage does it get me to declare loyalty? Perhaps if I lived in a state without open primaries, but as it is I gain nothing by putting an R or a D in front of my name.

No, you are cutting off the nose to spite the face. Clearly if you lean heavily toward one of the two major parties, you should want to influence the party you lean to in some way.

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#393

Post by heresie-dabord »

pseudosavant wrote: post #38

Looking at their charts, Democrats and Independents clearly think corruption is up a lot since 2024. But Republicans think corruption is down from 2024. The polarization of the electorate in the U.S. is pretty incredible.

Oligarchy has completely subverted democracy in the US.

In this era, venal actions are official actions. Nothing is even hidden anymore. Racketeering and thuggery are on display even during supposed negotiations.

The US is under mob rule. Sure sure, we gonna make a deal. Da best deal evah. Da deal is dat we won't whack ya.

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#394

Post by giantg2 »

vannevar wrote: post #95
giantg2 wrote: post #78

Lots of people here are focused on one guy. But the the article says "widespread". In my experience, much of the corruption is at a local or state level. At the federal level it seems the corruption is mostly related to agencies (GAO reports) and lobbying.

It doesn't seem like they asked about specific levels or branches of government, so presumably the respondents were giving a general impression. And in that case, it's hard to believe that a corrupt President wouldn't strongly influence the response.

It's only 17% higher than in 2010. Seems like a majority believed the government was corrupt prior to Trump.

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#396

Post by swed420 »

ninkendo wrote: post #391
swed420 wrote: post #379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity, how far back is this?

Not really interested in getting into a debate here, I’m just pointing out that GGP said “openness and also the scale”, to which you ignored the “scale” part and pretended it’s only about being corrupt in the open versus in private. I can point this out without making a comment at all (although I have my opinions) on whether I agree if the scale has changed. (To be clear, I absolutely believe the scale has increased…

> arguing about this is gonna be fruitless because it’s all subjective, there’s no hard numbers for any of it

I was just genuinely curious what somebody with your set of opinions has in mind for a time frame, because "1/100th the corruption" is too vague for me to quantify in my head.

As for arguing, I generally don't expect to change opinions with comments, especially those of whom I'm engaging with directly, so no worries there.

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#397

Post by garte »

What I'm wondering these last few years is whether American "politics" has anything actually political to discuss like ensuring the pension system is still intact in 30 years, improving access to a solid education (and even more so: what does that mean?), drug prevention, transparent election processes, tax and debt management... Over here in Europe you only hear about "US politics" like guns and cars or DEI ... stuff that you could bicker over after all the actual politics were decided upon.

Is there actual politics? Or is it all for show?

(This is relevant to corruption because I think a populace is a lot more receptive to ignoring corruption if the politics is emotionalised and people are entrenched and you don't talk about stuff that actually would benefit you but you have to decide on how to act on it)

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#398

Post by t-3 »

potamic wrote: post #274
scott_w wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, they’re not examples of corruption. Did Bush or Biden seek to profit from their actions financially? Not that I know of, unless you have proof showing what and how.

Corruption is not limited to financial profit. There are many ways to engage in acts of self interest like grant personal agenda, favours to friends/donors, quid-pro-quo etc.

These people are also all wealthy with stable fortunes - they don't need a lot of cash because they have everything. Trump is also a rich guy, but he has a lot of debts and legal troubles and worries about leaving office, so he urgently needs cash to bankroll and bribe and attract likeminded individuals to help him.

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#399

Post by otterley »

0xDEAFBEAD wrote: post #375
vkou wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> because they cling to unpopular positions on cultural issues. The Republican propaganda machine will always be ready to make any cultural issue the dems hold 'unpopular'. They turn anything and everything into a culture war, and if nothing exists, they are more than happy to manufacture it. Observe how they turned their own vaccine into a cultural issue.

Many people, including me, not all of us Republicans, have observed that the Dems were much saner before 2010 or so.

What happened around 2010 that might have precipitated whatever changes you’re thinking of?

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#400

Post by budman1 »

blooalien wrote: post #304
mitxela wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What can a single person legally do about corruption though?

> What can a single person legally do about corruption though? These days not much it would seem. :(

donate $10 to your local non republican congressional candidate. heck, make it $100
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