Global Research

We’ve extensively documented that institutional corruption in the United States has led to a collapse in trust … which is hurting the economy.

And that the same thing is happening worldwide:

• Voter Turnout Plunges Throughout the Western World … Largely Due to Political Corruption

• Leading Indicators of Revolt in the Middle East and Northern Africa: Corruption, Unemployment and Percentage of Household Money Spent on Food

• Corruption Threatens to Bring Down China and Russia

• Is the Chinese Economy Sputtering for the Same Reasons as the American Economy … Corruption?

• Failing to Prosecute Financial Fraud (i.e. corruption) – On Either Side of the Atlantic – Is Extending Our Economic Crisis

• European and American Governments Encourage Bank Manipulation and Fraud to Cover Up Insolvency (corruption)

• The Meaning of the British Riots (yup, you guessed it … corruption)

• Stunning Crimes of the Big Banks (whole lot of corruption)

And that corruption has skyrocketed recently.

CBS News reports today:

According to a survey released Tuesday [by the international anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International], a majority of people across the globe feel that corruption has worsened in their countries, and that their governments are ineffective in combating it.

According to the survey, more than one in four people reported paying a bribe in the past year.

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The survey asked respondents to rate the corruption level of their countries’ institutions on a one-to-five scale, in which five meant “extremely corrupt.”

Political parties were considered to be the most corrupt globally, with an average score of 3.8 out of 5.

“As political parties require money in order to run their campaigns, one of the big corruption risks for political parties is how they are funded,” Transparency International wrote in its report. “The interests of the people and organizations that fund political parties can have a large influence on the actions of those parties.”

Political parties fared worse in the United States, where the 1,000 respondents surveyed gave them a corruption score of 4.1.

Globally, police came in a close second, with a corruption score of 3.7. Nearly a third of respondents who came into contact with police reported having paid a bribe.

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And while 53 percent of respondents felt corruption had increased in the last two years, a majority also believed that their governments couldn’t fix the problem. According to the report, 54 percent of respondents view government as ineffective in combating corruption, up from the 47 percent recorded in Transparency International’s 2010-2011 survey.

“When there is widespread belief that corruption prevails and that the powerful in particular are able to get away with it, people lose faith in those entrusted with power,” Transparency International said.

In the survey, 54 percent of respondents felt that governments largely run for the benefit of self-interested groups. In the U.S., 64 percent said the government is run by a few big interests, compared with 5 percent who felt the same in Norway, and 83 percent in Greece.

CNN Money notes:

“The majority of people around the world believe that their government is ineffective at fighting corruption and corruption in their country is getting worse,” Transparency International said in the report, which was based on a survey of 114,000 people in 107 countries.

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The surveys suggest that corruption cuts across societies and demographics.

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“Impunity is anathema to the fight against corruption and, especially in the judiciary and law enforcement sectors, is a direct challenge to the rule of law,” the group said.