June 8, 2023

We all know that with power comes the temptation to treat others as we would not like others to treat us. In other words, with power comes the temptation for corruption of all sorts. This may be as minor as treating others rudely or as major as recent reports about the Biden family corruption imply.

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As I conducted research for this article, I found that the overwhelming majority of anti-corruption information focused on foreign corruption of one sort or another. Debate continues about whether the bribes companies pay to foreign governments to operate in their countries are economically good or bad. The most recent thinking appears to be that it is harmful. The World Bank and other well-known institutions have all sorts of high-level guidance for eliminating corruption, but I found it difficult to find much on eliminating corruption focused on our own federal government.

When I was a younger man working counter-narcotics in Colombia and other Latin American countries, I encountered corruption daily. During one of my missions, I assessed whether US aid actually reached the military and police units I worked with. I found myself counting the pairs of newer boots the local forces wore (and other equipment like trucks) to determine if the resources were properly used. It was not unheard of for officers to sell such equipment to the highest bidder…including local guerrillas and cartels. On occasion, officers gave me places to sleep and eat and then offered me “receipts” from local hotels for reimbursement upon my return stateside. They knew exactly how our travel finances worked.

I can assure you that I never took advantage of such offers. I believed I was setting an example and, by doing so, I met a few officers who did not give in to corruption either. Believe me, they had plenty of opportunities. These men ranked from Lieutenants to Colonels, and they were good men who risked their lives for countries where this type of corruption was more or less endemic. What made them different?

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In my experience, they were simply moral men who believed in serving something greater than themselves. They understood right from wrong and wanted better lives for their communities and not just themselves. It is astonishingly simple to understand.

Image: Money under the table by rawpixel.com.

An important point here is that they did not tolerate corruption around them. Their subordinates and colleagues felt peer pressure to limit their personal corruption and, if they were corrupt, they tried to hide it. They knew others saw their activities and would hold them accountable.

We need to reinforce this accountability and apply it to our own governments, but how? We have traditionally relied upon the Fourth Estate—that is, the news media—to expose wrongdoing and corruption. Unfortunately, that source is no longer as reliable as it once was (even with the biases it always had).

The saying goes that all politics is local, so that implies that all corruption is local too. Consider that our government is of the people and for the people. If that is true, then change in our government must come from the ground up and not the other way around. It must come from the people.

California recently enacted the “anti-pay to play” law holding that “…local elected officials can’t vote on matters that have a direct financial effect on interests that have contributed $250 or more to the official’s campaign in the previous year. It also blocked local officials from accepting such a contribution for a year after the vote.”

Is this going to be perfect? Probably not, but it is a step in the right direction. One thing is certain, however: stakeholders will find new ways to game the system to their personal benefit. As a result, as new corruption schemes develop, we must create new ways to counter them. It is an ongoing and constant fight for empowered and protected apolitical audit/inspection organizations.