Corruption

In my field, there is considerable debate about the role of corruption in developing economies. Conservative anti-foreign aid hacks (read: isolationists at heart) vehemently argue that aid donations go straight to corrupt regimes and inhibit development. Ergo, we should not give aid. Nothing like throwing the baby out with the bathwater, especially when you're wrong. A UN study recently definitively disproved the claim that high levels of corruption correlate with low economic development. In fact, the study found that their is little to no connection between corruption levels and economic growth. India, for example, rates as one of the most corrupt governments in the world, yet also enjoys double digit growth rates - also one of the highest in the world. Some countries prosper, some don't because ultimately economics is a complicated game and you can't reduce it to sole factors (except in extreme cases).

Why am I writing this? Well, simply, because there's a new leader in worldwide corruption and it's the United States of America. Reminscent of 1994 when the GOP siezed power from long term Democrat control because of corruption scandals involving various Senators and House leaders, the current Republican power base is enduring a similar situation. As this article explains, there is grave political fallout to the following scandals:

I've discussed Karl Rove in this space before and while that had quieted down a bit, we can expect something to happen soon. Special prosecuter Fitzgerald finally compelled New York Times reporter Judith Miller to testify in the investigation and this report by the Washington Post suggests that there may be criminal conspiracy charges filed against two or more of George Bush's staff.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Republican (obviously) is under investigation for insider trading ala Martha Stewart.

Former House Majority Leader Tom Delay (a true *sshole in every sense) is under indictment for campaign finance fraud. The charges are essentially the political equivalent to money laundering and will be a thorn in his side for quite some time.

The White House's former top procurement officer, David Safavian was arrested for lying to prosecutors and obstructing a criminal investigation into the distribution of government contracts. No shocker there that this administration is being investigated for shady procurement since every other contract goes to Halliburton or other Bush pals.

Top GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who has close ties to the Bush administration, is under indictment for wire fraud and conspiracy.

Add it all up and it stinks of the type of politics that has come to define America - the world's leader and "top democracy". Not that it's going to matter. The top democracy in the world has so gerrymandered its voting districts that even with grave political fallout it's unlikely that the Democrats will be able to seize control. If the Democrats made one mistake before losing power in 1994, it was that they didn't play by Republican rules and secure their power base by artificially adjusting voting territory. Sadly, with vast amounts of political corruption, elections that end in ties and are decided by the Supreme Court, and spurrious invasions in other countries, when it boils down to it, the US remains the most hollow and ineffective example of democracy to the world. The illusion that the US is a "model" for the world appears to have rubbed off. Now, the only people modelling US behavior are politicians that want to rig their own systems to their advantages.