Corruption Is Not New?

“Corruption, improper and usually unlawful conduct intended to secure a benefit for oneself or another its forms include bribery, extortion, and the misuse of inside information. It exists where there is community indifference or a lack of enforcement policies.”(Encyclopedia Britannica). Today political Corruption in all forms exists in every country in the world. In some countries it is more prominent then in others, but no matter where you go it still occurs. Recently in mid 2013 some political corruption was brought to light in New York. “Since 2007, state senators have been more likely to be arrested then to lose their seats in a general election,” (New York Public Interest Research group). In April of 2013 New York State

Political corruption is a major problem in the US today. It involves almost all levels of government and affects people from all walks of life. Public office is a noble post and citizens put their trust in government officials to carry out their constitutional duties for the benefit of the citizenry. The problem comes in where both elected and unelected officials perform their duties with the goal of personal gain in full view of the law. The ethical and moral wrongs of corruption are unjustifiable in any context.

The Progress movement or as many refer to as the Progressive era, was a time frame where Americans joined in varying groups to advocate reform across the United States. To elaborate, Progressives believed in widespread change for child labor, industrialization, government, racial reform, and women’s rights. Countless stories of corruption in these areas were brought to light in the Progressive era mostly due to the published writings of Muckrakers. Muckrakers, were journalists who wrote for popular magazines that attempted to expose corrupt political activities from their investigative journalism. Furthermore, I will discuss and compare these groups and their attempts for changes in the rights of child labor, women, acknowledgment of corrupt government practices, racial relations, and industrialization reform.

Someone who is abusing the power that is given to him or her defines corruption, however, the word in its self is more than a simple idea; it is an intricate network. Since people’s views about ethical and moral behavior affect the way corruption is examined, the word has a slightly different meaning to each person. Additionally, misconduct across various societies is viewed differently due to social and cultural borders. The criminal justice system has had many instances where corruption had affected the outcome of a case and has inserted itself into the legal process.

Kleptocracy is defined as a state controlled to benefit an individual or small group who use their power to gain “a large fraction of society’s resources” to use for themselves. Kleptocracy “obstruct[s] development” of countries because the money taxpayers entrust to further develop their country through projects such as schools or infrastructure, becomes diverted to certain people for their own personal gain. Daron Acemoglu, Thierry Verdier, and James A. Robinson, writers for the Journal of the European Economic Association, established that kleptocracy runs rampant in “many developing countries.” As a result of this corruption, countries suffer “highly inefficient economic policies” and “expropriated the wealth of their citizens.”

There are few nation-states that one could point to as being truly “corruption-free” (Denmark hosts the most corruption-free gov’t according to Transparency International’s 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index). However, this is a trait that holds back the growth of the whole of society, weakening the disadvantaged and emboldening the powerful. As Transparency International goes on to state:

First, it is important to define what corruption is. The term, “corruption” covers a broad range of human actions,

Living in America people learn to live amongst some of the most corrupt human-being known to humankind. Anyone can be corrupt, weather he or she is a corrupt cook working for Burger King stealing money from the cash register to pay bills, or a corrupt politician who votes to raise his or her earnings while committing white-collar crimes against the American public. Theodore Roosevelt could not have been more precise when he said, “When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer ‘present’ or ‘Not Guilty’.” Corruption has been around for some time in America, and the government has struggled to void this type of behavior when it comes to politicians. The government’s use of the FBI for investigations, the media

According to an annual survey done by Berlin-Based organization Transparency International, the world’s least corrupt nations in 2013 were Denmark, Finland, and New Zealand. The United States on the other hand landed in 19th place. (Infoplease.com)It’s not surprising to see the United States, land of opportunity, has dropped in ranking. Even every time when we watch the news or political channel, more and more scandals of corrupt politicians are revealed. Based off the citizens for responsibility and ethics in Washington or CREW, a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated in holding public officials accountable for their actions, about seventeen members of the past congress member were listed for most corrupt. The political scandals we

In the world today, corruption and integrity are widespread issues that plaque many countries around the world. Many countries have to face the possibility of government officials misusing their governmental powers for other purposes. “What constitutes illegal corruption may differ depending on the country or jurisdiction. Certain political practices may be legal in one place and illegal in another. In some countries, government officials have wide or not well defined powers. The line between legal and illegal can be very difficult to draw.” (Political corruption-Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

they govern. Throughout history, the actions of powerful political officials has set precedent for future leaders. As a result of the high amount of political power officials often attain, there is a high amount of corruption throughout politics. Florida, for example, ranks as the number 1 state in the United States in terms of corruption according to William March of the Tampa Bay Tribune1. Humans as a result, have an incredible amount of power to create instability in politics. A large amount of laws & acts passed in Florida have been as a result of “big money” ­­ where large companies will bribe government officials in exchange for acts & laws that favor their enterprise. Government officials don’t have a limitless power though, as a new act passed in Florida shows. Voters in Tallahassee, Florida made history by approving the first city Anti­ Corruption Act. Movements by people like this exemplify that people have a large amount of power to create instability, but it does have its limits. An example of corruption on a grander scale includes lobbyists in America according to Juan Cole of Informed Comment. Lobbyists, or business owners who

It would be convenient to start this research paper by stating that corruption is a challenge mainly for businesses in developing countries and that it is unrelated to the current affliction of the economy in the United States. It would also be convenient to claim corruption has declined in America as a result of awareness raising campaigns and the numerous anti-corruption laws. But none of those aforementioned statements would be true. Corruption is not the exception, but rather the rule in today’s business practices. In 2004, Daniel Kaufmann, a senior fellow at Brookings Institution and former director at the World Bank, calculated an index of "legally corrupt" manifestations which is defined as the extent of undue influence

Ahmad N. (2002). Corruption and Government Regulations : An Empirical Analysis. The Bangladesh Development Studies , Vol. 28, No. 4 pp. 29-51.

Political corruption has existed throughout the ages. It believed to be most prominent in positions of power, because of the role money plays in getting people power. However, over the centuries, corruption has changed so much so as to not match a particular definition of corruption, perpetually growing deceptively harder to find (Ebbe).

Corruption is a complex political, social, and economic anomaly that negatively affects developing and developed countries. It weakens democratic institutions, holds economic development, widening the rich-poor gap and certainly leads to governmental instability. The World Bank definition of corruption states that “…the abuse of public office for private gain”.