Corruption of Government

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The unlawful use of a person’s position while in power leads to multiple problems with today’s government. The corrupt methods politicians use are ideas that are strictly in place for personal gain. Present throughout history and still prevalent within today’s world, government corruption has consisted of a number of negative issues including bribery, economic and social impacts, and the misuse of power. Government’s role within daily life has been shown to have negative effects as seen in many aspects of life as well as in literature.
Bribery can be defined as when one is offered money or some other incentive with the intention to corrupt a person’s actions.¬ Bribery is the main component, if not the basis, of government corruption. Payments made to officials come into play often so people can receive what they desire, causing many negative effects. “The high cost of dealing with state officials through bribery induces many firms to operate the informal sector and many other to underreport sales, costs, and payroll to the authorities” (Rose-Ackerman 24). The bribes negatively resulted in companies having to lie to cover up their bribes. Bribes also have to do with personal gain and the want of certain perks. These bribes can be as simplistic as money or a larger perk such as an expensive item. The bigger the benefit, the bigger the bribe ends up being. Other perks include election rights. Politicians will pay to have electorates vote for them when they feel they’re running behind in races. In Hindustan, “AAP candidate Ashutosh on Wednesday alleged that his rival and Congress candidate Kapil Sibal is bribing voters in Delhi's Chandni Chowk constituency” (AAP's Ashutosh Accuses Sibal of Bribing Voters). Sibal had allegedly been ...

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Jolly, David. "Study Details Graft in European Union." The New York Times. The New York Times, 03 Feb. 2014. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.

Patton, Mike. "Government Corruption And Economic Growth: The 21 Least Corrupt Nations." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 24 Jan. 2014. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.

Rand, Ayn. Anthem. New York: Dutton, 1995. Print.

Rose-Ackerman, Susan. Corruption and Government: Causes, Consequences, and Reform. New York: Cambridge UP, 1999. Print.

United States. UNITED STATES SENTENCING COMMISSION. COCAINE AND FEDERAL SENTENCING POLICY. By Diana E. Murphy, Ruben Castillo, William K. Sessions, John R. Steer, Sterling Johnson, Joe Kendall, and Michael E. O'Niell. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.

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