Here’s some news that might pleasantly surprise the IRS and Department of Veterans Affairs.
The United States did better this year on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, going from nineteenth place last year to seventeenth this year. Among the countries still ranked above the U.S. are Switzerland, Canada, Barbados, Hong Kong, and Ireland.
The Index isn’t a measure of facts or policy. It’s purely based on “perception” and “expert opinions.” It ranks countries on a scale from 0 to 100, with 0 being the most corrupt. Denmark is in first place, with a score of 92.
According to Transparency International, “Countries’ scores can be helped by open government where the public can hold leaders to account, while a poor score is a sign of prevalent bribery, lack of punishment for corruption and public institutions that don’t respond to citizens’ needs.”
Turkey and China both lost 4 points this year, while Egypt and the Ivory Coast gained five.
NPR notes that the index has been criticized for having an “elite bias” and distorting the truth with incorrect perceptions.
Read more from NPR.
