by Ethan Arrow

When Chana and David did a podcast last month on the 2009 Corruption Perception Index, I was a bit surprised to hear that the US ranked not in the top 5 least-corrupt countries, not in the top 10, but 19th. That's a lot more corrupt than Singapore, Australia and Norway, and just a little less corrupt than Barbados. In case you missed the podcast, they talked to Jermyn Brooks of Transparency International, the organization that compiles the annual index from a series of surveys. Jermyn assuaged our worries by explaining that rankings are based on perceived levels of corruption and not on actual corruption. He added that there's some room for improvement as countries end economic, political and social practices that many view as corrupt.

That might be good news for countries like Nigeria (currently #130), which is trying to pass anti-corruption laws in an attempt to rid itself of the bribes and blackmail that have historically infected its politics and economy. (We did a podcast on that, too.) But what about the US? Brooks told us that one of the reasons the US ranks relatively low on the list - at least compared to other democracies - is that private money, albeit with some restrictions, is allowed to play a pivotal role in politics.

 

Now things could get even worse, at least if you're listening to the critics (Obama included) of the recent Supreme Court ruling on campaign financing. On January 21st, the Court ruled that limiting corporate spending on political campaigns violates the First Amendment principle on free speech.

So in the spirit of continuing our examination of corruption, I decided to ask Brooks what he thought about the ruling. If lobbyists, special interest groups and private corporations can now use even more money to sway elections, what effect might that have on next year's index? Here's what he had to say:

"The international reputation of the US as a fair and transparent society will take a further blow, and nascent democracies will cite the US as an example why they do not need to deal with their own conflicts of interest between politicians and business." He added that the US is " most vulnerable to perceptions of corrupt practices with respect to business's aggressive lobbying, supported by campaign financing, to influence political decision making." Brooks' conclusion: "If the Supreme Court ruling is allowed to stand, it is bound to impact negatively on the Corruption Practices Index."

I guess if Jermyn's right, we could find the US even further down the list next year, possibly behind Qatar, Saint Lucia or even France.