Political Corruption Unmasked

Like cancer, corruption penetrates the political scene, then spreads to culture, and finally affects the economy of the society. Thus, corruption succeeds in destroying the normal functioning of the vital organs of the States. Nowadays, corruption is one of the greatest challenges that the modern world faces. It undermines the efficient work of governments and also distorts the public policies, which in turn leads to the injustice in the allocation of resources. Corruption harms the development of a state, hence the poor are affected immensely.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation discovered that corruption is among the top threats to the national security and, therefore, made corruption a priority among its top criminal investigators. All of that was done in a bid to wipe out the vice. Previously, terrorism was considered as a main threat to the security of the nation. However, corruption in the country is proving to be currently the most pressing threat. Similarly to the efforts made to curb the terrorist activities, there is dire need to eliminate corruption. Because of corruption, all the other vices are being indulged. We can save the country from the horrible crimes, unjust impunity, and other social ills if we curb corruption.

General Discussion

Political corruption is the involvement of the policy makers in perpetuating the misuse of public authority. Corruption entails giving the influential people bribes to get things done, embezzlement, extortion as well as fraud. It is clear that corruption comes in many different forms and gives a pointer as to the actors, initiators, and those who benefit from the vice. Such a great number of the forms of corruption make it a challenging and complex task to determine the causes as well as the consequences of such dishonesty. It is not that the countries are poor that corruption is a crisis, but the issue is about corruption exhausting the countries’ resources. To make it short, corruption makes the countries poor.

Political corruption is not a preserve of the authoritarian states only. In the democracies around the world, corruption is evident as well. We are not the exception. The advantage of fighting corruption in the democracies is a possibility to find a lasting solution by the system itself. Strengthening the political institutions as well as vitalizing them makes sure that there are checks and balances, hence corruption is eradicated.

The extractive and redistributive corruption illustrates the origin of the corruption in question. Moreover, it shows the beneficiaries of corruption. Political corruption brings us to the conclusion that the state is indulging the vice. Hence, corruption is a state-society relationship. The relationship exists because there is a mutual benefit between the parties. When resources are taken from the society to the state in any of the forms of corruption, the extractive corruption then takes place. In the other instance, when resources are taken from the state and are made the property of the society, the redistributive corruption occurs.

The level of corruption, seemingly, influences negatively the economic prosperity in the US. When a country grows richer, therefore, the degree of corruption goes down. When income is increasing in a country, the level of corruption is decreasing at the same time. It is low-income levels and a high standard of living that fuels corruption. When the economy is struggling due to the thriving corruption activities, the human rights issues emerge. Increase in the criminal activities happens as well because everyone struggles to make ends meet. In order to prevent this sort of situation, it is imperative that the human rights organization joins in the war with corruption.

Policy Options

Like every other vice in the society, corruption has more consequences for the society. In the economic perspective, corruption can be a cause of that because it can fight the strict bureaucracy, make the path for private entrepreneurship, and promote small businesses. On the other hand, corruption can be a curse of the economy forcing many investors from states that have high levels of corruption. It is again because of political corruption that monies set aside to help the youth to develop their own small businesses are reportedly lost. On the bright side, if the businesses can estimate the so-called expenses on corruption and include them in their calculations, corruption will not become an impediment to investments. The political consequence of corruption is that it affects the way the US government operates. When corruption takes a deep root in a state, the most probable thing to happen is that the state will have mostly weak institutions that will not be able to make decisions, which directly affect the population, hence there is intervention in the human rights sector. Strong leadership will have a better control of the corruption activities in their states; therefore, they will determine those who gain from corruption and how much is stolen or redistributed. The above-mentioned consequences of corruption are sufficient reasons to make the policy makers push for the changes in the law. The level of development in the countries that have a low prevalence of corruption is much greater compared to the states where corruption is the popular trend. It is, therefore, imperative that corruption is dealt with to make way for the state to experience the developments at the adequate rate.

The goal of any human rights organization like ours is to ensure that everyone gets a fair share of everything. Therefore, we insist that the policies as given are geared towards making the country a better place. It is to the best interest of the organization that there is an equitable allocation of resources, proper management of the available resources as well as maintenance of the acceptable moral status.

There are several ways to tackle the issue. External control is one of them. Then goes involving international organizations in the fight against corruption has proved to bear fruits. Next would be ensuring that states that promote corruption do not receive funding from World Bank as well the IMF. Prosecution of corrupt individuals must take place to deter other people of the same mindset. Campaigns to stop corruption lead by the state organs reduce the vice greatly. Sensitizing the US citizens to the ways corruption takes place is also critical. Ensuring that there is a restriction in administrative discretions as well as departments and governmental offices is also important. Institutional control is another means of curtailing corruption. Others include making sure that the Anti-Corruption Commission works efficiently, and all the branches of the government are under constant watch and work to improve the standards of living of the US citizens. Finally, we have the democratic control, which includes separation of powers; thus, no one has the authority to make any changes according to their wishes. Ensuring that the judiciary is independent and is not influenced by the executive is another way.

The first measures for the US government to take in order to curb and eradicate the corruptions cases within the nation are as follows. The first is introduction of more severe punitive action for those engaged in corruption. This must include banning corruption officials from working in any public office and extending the current sentence term. Second, the government has to reward those who report cases of corruption to the state, which would encourage everyone to fight the vice. This is yet another move that will prompt all citizens to fight it. Finally, introducing educational programs to teach about corruption will go a long way towards preventing such cases in future.

By implementing these policies, United States will ensures that few individuals do not benefit while the greater population languish in unimaginable suffering. They will reclaim its position as a steward of the human rights. The economy will be stable and people will start their own businesses easily, which is their right. Resources will be channeled to where they are needed most and there will be accountability for the usage of the public funds. The rights of the US citizens to know how the monies that were allocated for every project are used will also be easier to exercise.

The limitations of these policies are the following: some of the policy makers are corrupt and would do everything possible to prevent the necessary change for fear of victimization. It is unfortunate that the positive policies face such challenges, but we are sure that since they are just few individuals, their influence cannot outnumber the good policy makers who will see it through. Another limitation is the cost of implementing such policies. From the onset, it is evident that it will be costly to implement these policies, especially the ones dealing with introduction of the education programs. Training teachers on these new subjects will cost the US government great money. However, it is important to note that whatever amounts of money the government spent on the policies, it would have been a lifetime investment.

It was shown that the political corruption is a cancer that needs to be removed from any state to ensure equality concerning the resources allocation. By examining the different forms of corruption, it is easier to make a sound judgment of the corruption’s effects, hence look for the ways to deal with the vice. Following the recommendations will also go a long way towards ensuring that corruption does not exist anymore or at least not at the significant level. A corruption free country is likely to make further progress in terms of economic development, hence in promoting the human rights.