Day 5: A Level Playing Field

Wish 5: End Corruption

This particular wish is anticlimactic. There isn't much to talk about when it comes to corruption because it seems to be found anywhere. I have three thoughts to bring up here.

First, corruption has grave economic effects. If a single government official takes money from the coffers, it means that hundreds or thousands of taxpayers are wronged. If that is systematically present in all levels of a national government, then there is less money for infrastructure, social programs and sustainability. That's a formula for economic disaster.

Secondly, corruption is simply wrong. If you're Catholic, it was in today's gospel: Jesus told tax collectors to collect only what they are supposed to. The same is true for other religions and their teachings on taking possession illegally. Yet, it is practiced more by people who seem to be more God-fearing.

Finally, it can be measured by country. Or at least the perception of corruption is measurable. This is an interesting site to check out. It is called Transparency International. www.transparency.org. The website has just launched the Global Corruption Barometer, a research which looks as corruption from the eyes of ordinary people.

But what I want you to look at is the Corruption Perceptions Index or CPI: http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi. It ranks over 150 countries in terms of their corruption levels. Find your country's ranking. In 2006, Canada is number 14 and the USA is number 20. A high ranking is good. If you look closely, countries with higher rankings tend to have better economic activity than those with lower rankings. It's just a fact, business thrives better in countries that have a fair playing field.

It is interesting also to see the previous reports to compare if your country is getting better or worse.

So, my simple wish today, is for an end to corruption. It's wrong and it has dire economic effects.

[For tomorrow, we'll look into humor. Don't miss it.]