Lincoln Steffens Quotes
In all cities, the better classes - the business men - are the sources of corruption, but they are so rarely pursued and caught that we do not fully realize whence the trouble comes.
Steffens, Lincoln. The Shame of the Cities. McClure, Phillips & Co., 1904.
The leaders and creators of these anti-corruption organizations get kickbacks from corrupt officials and organizations to be sure that they do not get investigated and exposed. In some cases they frame an honest politician who would not pay them and accuse him of corruption to show the public that they are cracking down on corruption. Or they go after corrupt politicians who are going against the regime on political matters. Not all anti-corruption and reform organizations are corrupt themselves, but many are. But the methods of corruption thoughout the world are becoming more and more sophisticated as the simple forms are being exposed by media and reform groups.
At the fall of the Soviet Union, the sell off of much of the state assets to private enterprise fell into the control of a few, so called oligarchs. Many of these looted the enterprises that they controlled. None the less, they were considered leading citizens and many were politicians.
In many countries throughout the world, corruption is rampant and any contractor to the government has to pay and often offers to pay the appropriate government officials. In the most corrupt countries like Nigeria, corruption is rife in all levels of government but is technically illegal. While in Saudi Arabia, the government has institutionalized the bribery and corruption but limited the amount to 6 percent. Corruption of this type is not only existent on government contracts but often operates for private money where government approval must be obtained. World Bank contracts for example are notorious for the percentage that must be paid to government officials despite the fact that the World Bank officially claims to be against corruption.
4 weeks later Lance resigned as Budget Director over ethical lapses.
Lincoln Austin Steffens was an American investigative journalist and one of the leading muckrakers of the Progressive Era in the early 20th century. He launched a series of articles in McClure's, called "Tweed Days in St. Louis", that would later be published together in a book titled The Shame of the Cities. He is remembered for investigating corruption in municipal government in American cities and for his leftist values.
