Corruption in the United States

Last updated

Corruption in the United States is the act of government officials abusing their political powers for private gain, typically through bribery or other methods, in the United States government. Corruption in the United States has been a perennial political issue, peaking in the Jacksonian era and the Gilded Age before declining with the reforms of the Progressive Era.

Contents

As of 2024 the United States scored 69 on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean") according to Transparency International's 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index. When ranked by score, the United States ranked 24th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector.

History

18th century

Corruption in the United States dates back to the founding of the country. The American Revolution was, in part, a response to the perceived corruption of the British monarchy. Separation of powers was developed to enable accountability. [1] Freedom of association also served this end, allowing citizens to organize independently of the government. This was in contrast to some European powers at the time where all associations and economic activities were implicitly managed by the government. [2]

During the 1st United States Congress, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton proposed several new economic initiatives that involved taxes, tariffs, debts, and a national bank. Fears that these proposals would lead to corruption grew so great that the Democratic-Republican Party was formed to oppose them. [2]

19th century

Corruption reemerged as a major theme in American politics in the 1824 United States presidential election, where Andrew Jackson ran as an anti-corruption candidate. The issue was only exacerbated by the controversial results of the election preventing Jackson's victory, known as the corrupt bargain. Following Jackson's victory in the next election, a dispute over the national bank again became relevant in the issue of corruption. [2]

In state governments, authorities would authorize corporate charters to authorize the creation of new corporations. These faced some resistance due to their potential for corruption. While they were generally used in ways that promoted the economic development of the states, there were instances of charters being given preferential treatment to political allies. The Albany Regency, for example, authorized charters for banks in exchange for political and financial support. This issue was eventually solved as state governments standardized the process of incorporation throughout the 1840s. [2]

The Gilded Age was a period of increased prosperity and growth in the United States. This growth resulted in a corresponding increase of corruption and bribery in the government and in business. The main issue of contention was the spoils system, in which government jobs were given in exchange for political support. This issue was addressed by civil service reform. [3]

The presidency of Ulysses S. Grant during the Gilded Age was mired with instances of corruption. Grant had been elected without political experience, and he had little ability to control or regulate the members of his government, who proceeded to take advantage of his inexperience. [1] Notable examples include the Whiskey Ring, the Star Route scandal, and the trader post scandal. The Crédit Mobilier scandal also became public information at this time. [4]

One researcher contends that in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, corruption in the wealthy, industrialized United States in some ways resembled corruption in impoverished developing nations today. Political machines manipulated voters to place candidates in power loyal to the machines. Public offices were sold for money or political support. Private interests bribed government officials in exchange for special treatment. However, unlike many developing countries today, the United States had a free press, an honest federal judiciary, and citizen activists who led the reaction against corruption in the early 20th century. Too, the United States did not struggle against widespread poverty as well as corruption, and the executive branch of the federal government never descended to the levels of kleptocracy seen in some developing countries today. [5]

20th century

The Progressive Era was a period of anti-corruption fervor in the United States led by the progressive movement. During this time, political machines and monopolies were targeted and disestablished. Theodore Roosevelt was a major figure in the Progressive Era, leading the efforts of trustbusting.

The Teapot Dome scandal was a major instance of corruption during the Presidency of Warren G. Harding. Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall had accepted bribes from oil companies in exchange for access to government petroleum reserves. After the corruption was discovered, Fall was sentenced to prison. [1]

Richard Nixon was notably the subject of multiple corruption allegations. While running for Vice President in 1952, Nixon famously gave a speech declaring that he accepted one gift, a dog named Checkers, and that he had no intention of returning it. During Nixon's presidency, he was implicated in the Watergate scandal. [6] Shortly before, his Vice President Spiro Agnew had been found guilty of tax fraud. [7]

In the 1970s, the FBI conducted the sting operation codenamed Abscam to uncover corruption in Congress. Seven members of Congress were convicted of bribery. In the 1980s, the Oklahoma county commissioners scandal resulted in the conviction of 230 people, the most people ever convicted in a public corruption case in the US. [8]

Contemporary corruption

The United States' perceived resistance to corruption declined from 76 in 2015 to 67 in 2021 (with 0 being "highly corrupt" and to 100 "very clean" in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index). [9] In 2019, Transparency International stated that the United States is "experiencing threats to its system of checks and balances", along with an "erosion of ethical norms at the highest levels of power", citing populism, nativism, and political polarization as factors that may increase corruption. [10] In 2022 and 2023, the country's score rose to 69. When ranked by score, the United States ranked 24th among the 180 countries in the Index in both years. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score on the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index was 90 (ranked 1), the average score was 43, and the worst score was 11 (ranked 180). [9] For comparison with regional scores, the highest score among the countries of the Americas [Note 1] was 76 and the lowest score was 14. [11] Transparency International spoke approvingly in 2024 of how the federal and state courts have withstood attacks on their independence, although it found the weak ethics rules for the Supreme Court worrisome. [12]

The FBI is responsible for investigating corruption in the United States with several initiatives to investigate both domestic and foreign corruption, and it recognizes public corruption as its "top criminal investigative priority". [13]

In 2019, Stephen Walt argued that the United States was becoming increasingly corrupt, pointing to the Trump administration, the causes of the Great Recession, the failure of the Boeing 737 MAX, and the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal as examples. Walt argues that these examples show that corruption is a growing problem in the United States and in the longer term threaten the country's soft power. [14] The United States has been cited as a tax haven. [15] [16] The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act requires foreign governments to reveal American accounts abroad, but the US has no responsibility, legal or otherwise, to share information on non-Americans opening up accounts in the US. In 2016 one estimate placed the total offshore wealth in the US at $800 billion. [17]

On the 22nd of September, Senator Bob Menendez, a prominent figure in the United States, was formally charged with corruption alongside his wife, Nadine. This is the second time that Menendez, who serves as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has faced such allegations. As per the indictment from the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, Menendez and his wife were reportedly engaged in a bribery scheme with three businessmen from New Jersey. The bribes, which included gold, cash, a luxury vehicle, and various other benefits, totaled hundreds of thousands of dollars. Allegedly, in exchange for these favors, the Democratic Senator from New Jersey used his influential position to assist both the businessmen and the government of Egypt, the home country of one of the individuals implicated. [18]

Ethics of elected officials

A January 2018 report by the Public Citizen non-profit describes dozens of foreign governments, special interest groups and GOP congressional campaign committees that spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at President Donald Trump's properties during his first year in office. The study said that these groups clearly intended to win over the president by helping his commercial business empire profit while he held the office. [19]

Police corruption

This section is an excerpt from Police corruption § United States.[ edit ]
Grand juries often decline to seek charges for U.S. police officers involved in violent activity due to the violent nature of policing, though some U.S. police have faced killing charges. Corruption cases and other non-violent crimes are less likely to be prosecuted. [20]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption Perceptions Index</span> Country ranking by public sector corruption

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an index that ranks countries "by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys." The CPI generally defines corruption as an "abuse of entrusted power for private gain". The index is published annually by the non-governmental organisation Transparency International since 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in Russia</span> Institutional corruption in the country

Corruption is perceived as a significant problem in Russia, impacting various aspects of life, including the economy, business, public administration, law enforcement, healthcare, and education. The phenomenon of corruption is strongly established in the historical model of public governance, and attributed to general weakness of rule of law in the country. Transparency International stated in 2022, "Corruption is endemic in Russia" and assigned it the lowest score of any European country in their Corruption Perceptions Index for 2021. It has, under the regime of Vladimir Putin, been variously characterized as a kleptocracy, an oligarchy, and a plutocracy; owing to its crony capitalism economic system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in the Philippines</span> State of corruption in the country

The Philippines suffers from widespread corruption, which developed during the Spanish colonial period. According to GAN Integrity's Philippines Corruption Report updated May 2020, the Philippines suffers from many incidents of corruption and crime in many aspects of civic life and in various sectors. Such corruption risks are rampant throughout the state's judicial system, police service, public services, land administration, and natural resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in Finland</span> Institutional corruption in the country

Finland's overall corruption is relatively low, according to public opinion and global indexes and standards. The 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index released by Transparency International scored Finland at 87 on a scale from 0 to 100. When ranked by score, Finland ranked second among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country or countries ranked first are perceived to have the most honest public sector. Finland has ranked first, second or third every year since the current version of the Index was introduced in 2012. For comparison with 2023 worldwide scores, the best score was 90, the average score was 43, and the worst score was 11. For comparison with regional scores, the highest score among Western European and European Union countries was 90, the average score was 65 and the lowest score was 42.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in Italy</span> Institutional corruption in the country

Corruption in Italy is a major problem. In Transparency International's annual surveys, Italy has consistently been regarded as one of the most corrupt countries in the Eurozone. Political corruption remains a major problem particularly in Lombardy, Campania and Sicily where corruption perception is at a high level. Political parties are ranked the most corrupt institution in Italy, closely followed by public officials and Parliament, according to Transparency International. But in the 2013 Global Corruption Barometer report, Italy is in 17th position in front of the United Kingdom (18th), Switzerland (21st) and the United States (22nd).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in France</span>

Corruption in France describes the prevention and occurrence of corruption in France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in Bangladesh</span> Institutional corruption in the country

Corruption in Bangladesh has been a continuing problem. According to all major ranking institutions, Bangladesh routinely finds itself among the most corrupt countries in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in Australia</span> Institutional corruption in the country

Corruption can take many forms, and can distort how public policy is made or implemented. This article discusses the responsibilities of the various agencies involved in combating corruption in Australia. Australia became a signatory to the United Nations Convention against Corruption in 2005. While Australia is a wealthy democracy, over the decade since 2012, Australia's ranking in the Corruption Perceptions Index from Transparency International has slipped from 7th place in 2012 to 14th in 2023, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. Additionally, there is a public perception that corruption in Australia is increasing. All states have broad-based anti-corruption agencies, and a national anti-corruption commission has been operational since July 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in Sweden</span> Institutional corruption in the country

Corruption in Sweden has been defined as "the abuse of power" by Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå). By receiving bribes, bribe takers abuse their position of power, which is consistent with how the National Anti-Corruption Unit of the Swedish Prosecution Authority specifies the term. Although bribes and improper rewards are central in the definition of corruption in Sweden, corruption in the sense of "abuse of power" can also manifest itself in other crimes such as misuse of office, embezzlement, fraud and breach of trust against a principal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in Switzerland</span> Institutional corruption in the country

Corruption in Switzerland describes the prevention and occurrence of corruption in Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in Portugal</span> Institutional corruption in the country

In 2013, a report by Transparency International revealed that political parties, Parliament, the judiciary and the military are the most corrupt institutions in Portugal. Transparency International's 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index ranks the country in 33rd place out of 180 countries in the Index.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in Germany</span> Institutional corruption in the country

Transparency International's 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index scored Germany at 78 on a scale from 0 to 100. When ranked by score, Germany ranked 9th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90, the average score was 43, and the worst score was 11. For comparison with regional scores, the highest score among Western European and European Union countries was 90, the average score was 65 and the lowest score was 42.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in the Czech Republic</span> Institutional corruption in the country

Corruption in the Czech Republic is considered to be widespread by a majority of the Czech public, according to Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in South Korea</span> Institutional corruption in the country

Corruption in South Korea is moderate compared to most countries in the Asia-Pacific and the broader international community. Transparency International's 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index scored South Korea at 63 on a scale between 0 and 100. When ranked by score, South Korea ranked 32nd among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90, the average score was 43, and the worst score was 11. For comparison with regional scores, the highest score among the countries of the Asia Pacific region was 85, the average score was 45 and the lowest score was 17.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in Peru</span> Institutional corruption in the country

On Transparency International's 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index, Peru scored 33 on a scale from 0 to 100. When ranked by score, Peru ranked 121st among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90, the average score was 43, and the worst score was 11. For comparison with regional scores, the highest score among the countries of the Americas was 76, the average score was 43 and the lowest score was 13.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in Malaysia</span> Institutional corruption in the country

According to a 2013 public survey in Malaysia by Transparency International, a majority of the surveyed households perceived Malaysian political parties to be highly corrupt. A quarter of the surveyed households consider the government's efforts in the fight against corruption to be ineffective. Corruption in Malaysia generally involves political connections still playing an important role in the outcome of public tenders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in Croatia</span> Institutional corruption in the country

As of the early 2020s, Croatia has severe problems with systemic and political corruption. Among European Union member states, it is generally ranked as one of the five most corrupt states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in Bolivia</span> Institutional corruption in the country

Corruption in Bolivia is a major problem that has been called an accepted part of life in the country. It can be found at all levels of Bolivian society. Citizens of the country perceive the judiciary, police and public administration generally as the country's most corrupt. Corruption is also widespread among officials who are supposed to control the illegal drug trade and among those working in and with extractive industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in Israel</span> Institutional corruption in the country

There is evidence that corruption is a legitimate problem in Israeli politics and many investigations have taken place into allegations of influence peddling and bribery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in Uruguay</span>

Corruption is low in Uruguay by regional standards. It has generally outperformed other Latin American countries frequently in corruption related international indexes.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Genovese, Michael A. (2010). "Presidential Corruption". In Genovese, Michael A.; Farrar-Myers, Victoria A. (eds.). Corruption and American Politics. Cambria Press. pp. 135–176.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Wallis, John Joseph (2006). "The Concept of Systematic Corruption in American History". In Glaeser, Edward L.; Goldin, Claudia (eds.). Corruption and Reform: Lessons from America's Economic History. University of Chicago Press. pp. 23–62. ISBN   0226299570.
  3. ↑ Nevins, Allan (1927). The Emergence of Modern America, 1865–1878 . pp.  178–202.
  4. ↑ "The Crédit Mobilier Scandal | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  5. ↑ Stephenson, Matthew (September 23, 2020). "A history of corruption in the United States: Anti-corruption law expert Matthew Stephenson focuses his recent scholarship on anticorruption reform in U.S. history". Harvard Law Today (Interview). Interviewed by Christine Perkins. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  6. ↑ Marsh, Bill (October 30, 2005). "Ideas and Trends: When Criminal Charges Hit the White House". The New York Times. p. 4.4.
  7. ↑ Time, October 22, 1973, "The Nation: The Fall of Spiro Agnew"
  8. ↑ "Toll 230 as book closes on county commissioner scandal". The Oklahoman . February 3, 1984.
  9. 1 2 "Corruption Perceptions Index 2023: United States of America". Transparency.org. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Americas: Weakening Democracy and Rise in Populism Hinder Anti-corruption Efforts". Transparency International. January 29, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Corruption Perceptions Index 2023: Americas". Transparency.org. CPI2023_Map_Americas_EN.pdf. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  12. ↑ "CPI 2023 for the Americas: Lack of independent judiciary hinders the fight against corruption". Transparency.org. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Public Corruption". fbi.gov. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
  14. ↑ Walt, Stephen M. (May 19, 2019). "The US is a lot more corrupt than Americans realize, and the problem goes much deeper than Trump". Business Insider. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  15. ↑ Michel, Casey (February 3, 2020). "How the US became the center of global kleptocracy". Vox. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  16. ↑ Cenziper, Debbie; Fitzgibbon, Will; Georges, Salwan (October 4, 2021). "FOREIGN MONEY SECRETLY FLOODS U.S. TAX HAVENS. SOME OF IT IS TAINTED". Washington Post.
  17. ↑ Scannell, Kara; Houlder, Vanessa (May 8, 2016). "US tax havens: The new Switzerland". www.ft.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  18. ↑ Corruption is as American as apple pie Retrieved 30 May 2024
  19. ↑ "Trump Properties Earned a Fortune from GOP and Foreign Governments During President's First Year in Office: Report". Newsweek. January 16, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  20. ↑ Brown, Taylor Kate (April 8, 2015). "The cases where US police have faced killing charges". Archived from the original on October 31, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.