Afghan Corruption Soars: Bribes Twice as Much as Tax Revenue

[Teamster Jeff]

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Afghanistan’s near-legendary levels of corruption continue to worsen, with the latest UN report putting the bribery industry at $3.9 billion, twice what the Afghan government actually collects in above-the-table revenue.

Cronyism and just absurd amounts of bribery demands for all levels of government employees have been a long-standing issue for the NATO-installed regime, and even something as simple as getting electricity or running water installed requires navigating a whole array of officials, each with their hand out for a “tip” to facilitate the process.
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With official “revenues” relatively low, Afghan government employees aren’t paid particularly well and it is an accepted fact that they will solicit bribes to “top up” their earnings to a higher level.
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http://news.antiwar.com/2013/02/07/afghan-corruption-soars-bribes-twice-as-much-as-tax-revenue/

When your civil service is poorly paid corruption will follow and here in the US, government is under constant attack. Granted we are a long way off from this kind of corruption but the path we are on will lead to banana republic status eventually.

[bluestate10]

1. Corruption is common in a society that is establishing the rule of law.

In the early USA, some politicians used the commonwealth as their personal piggy-bank. Benjamin Franklin helped write contracts that only his businesses could provide services for. When I look at Afghanistan, I look for the case of young musicians touring the US for a while before returning home to continue their pursuit of music. The taliban would kill those young people for the simple love that they have. Having Afghanistan become a country where the rule of law is what drives every day conduct and girls can decide their futures won't be easy, but a lot of progress has been made. Afghanistan has politicians that are not corrupt, many of them, those people will become the Thomas Jeffersons, George Washingtons, John Adams and John Quincy Adams who, although imperfect human beings, do make decisions that launch their nation forward.