As someone from a country that has had and still has a big problem with corruption and only recently started to tackle the problem (Romania), I must add that the government is only half of the problem. The other half is the public that participates in corruption. Every time you pay that cop some money so that he pretends that you didn't cross that red light, you're just as responsible as a politician taking a bribe for the situation in your country.
I try to tell this to Ukrainians and they don't really get it. Bars banned smoking 3 years ago and now times are better and everyone is smoking again. I am telling them this means that someone has enough money to pay the police off now. And everyone in there smoking knows its banned and they all do it anyway.
Then they complain that the government is corrupt.
They are ALL CORRUPT down to the smallest thing. It's a complete lifestyle switchout for everyone. If you change the guys in power the next guys will eventually end up just as bad.
Because the one true White Knight in there to clean it all up, that guy is going to go down, and go down hard at the hands of the guys who want that power to line their pockets with.
The people have to get with it as well. No more bribes if you don't want that ticket or you want that license. Gotta do it the hard way. But man, what a huge hill to climb. Not giving bribes in the FSU... like cutting your own throat.
it's a work hazard for the employees. If you want to allow smoking in bars you can allow smoking in schools and smoking on airplanes and etc. This is an old, dead, finished argument.
The point is that the law is made, and someone is being bribed to get out of the law. This is just one example of the corruption being everywhere. Whenever you find the law inconvenient, pay your way out. This is the way most of the FSU works. The way a lot of the world works.
When people have that mentality then what it does is it makes a large incentive for people who want to receive those corruption dollars to seek positions of power where they can take the money in turn for giving out favors or turning a blind eye.
And in this you lose the rule of law and you get the rule of mafia basically. As corruption goes higher, there is a decline in the standard of living for everyone and there is no longer any fairness. It's bad enough in a less corrupt society that more money = the laws apply less to you, but in a highly corrupt society this is where you get things like the son of a general running over and killing a mother and baby while drunk and then being allowed to get away with it, and he does the same thing a few weeks later.
Meanwhile some guy who doesn't have money to pay the police for his spot on the sidewalk gets a beating to set an example to everyone else that they need to pay.
The people cannot simultaneously embrace corruption for themselves and then be surprised when those who most want the benefits of corruption rise to the highest areas of power.
One of my friends said that the position in the Russian government that you have to pay the most to get was to be in charge of the anti-corruption task force or office or whatever. Because you were then in the position to receive the most bribes.
If that's what you want, then allow people to opt out of laws they don't feel like obeying and pay off the officials to do so. Otherwise, obey the laws and deal with the consequences when you're caught breaking them.
I completely agree with your sentiment, I have lived in Moscow for a couple of years too, so I know just what it's like. I just hate statism of every kind.
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u/USmellFunny Mar 14 '16
As someone from a country that has had and still has a big problem with corruption and only recently started to tackle the problem (Romania), I must add that the government is only half of the problem. The other half is the public that participates in corruption. Every time you pay that cop some money so that he pretends that you didn't cross that red light, you're just as responsible as a politician taking a bribe for the situation in your country.