美国最腐败的十个州调查：越腐败，越爱上马大项目

    提到政府腐败，我们常常倾向于带有偏见地认为，只有军事政府和第三世界国家的政府才会腐败。但毫无疑问，腐败无处不在，只是形式各不相同。腐败同样给美国公民造成了巨大的浪费。

    香港大学（University of Hong Kong）与印第安纳大学（University of Indiana）的研究人员最近进行的一项研究结果显示，在美国最腐败的十个州，腐败给美国人造成的浪费是平均每人每年1,308美元，约占各州每人每年平均支出的5.2%。

    研究人员调查了1976年至2008年期间超过25,000起公务人员违反联邦腐败法律的案件，以及各州财政支出的方式，据此研究出一个腐败指数，用来评估美国最腐败和最不腐败的州。根据这个方法，最腐败的各州分别是：

    1. 密西西比州

    2. 路易斯安那州

    3. 田纳西州

    4. 伊利诺伊州

    5. 宾夕法尼亚州

    6. 阿拉巴马州

    7. 阿拉斯加州

    8. 南达科他州

    9. 肯塔基州

    10. 佛罗里达州

    事实上，这些州榜上有名并不令人意外。近几年，伊利诺伊州备受瞩目的腐败案件已经让它臭名远扬。其他各州，比如密西西比州与路易斯安那州，都是美国经济最落后的地区。此外，研究人员还发现，在最腐败的10个州中，有9个州的总体开支高于其他州（南达科他州是唯一的例外）。研究人员认为，打击腐败将是降低州政府开支的有效方法，而且不会影响公民需要的服务。

    研究人员还发现，上榜各州的开支与其他州相比存在较大差异。报告称：“腐败较为严重的各州更有可能支持建筑、工资、借贷、服刑人员改造和警察保护，而牺牲教育、健康与医院等社会部门的支出。”

    文件解释称，建筑支出，特别是大型基础设施项目的开支，尤其容易滋生腐败，因为对于大型非标准项目，公众很难评估它们的价值，而建筑行业又被多家垄断性企业控制。此外，由于显而易见的理由，腐败更为严重的各州往往存在有更多、待遇更好的公务员，包括警察和狱警。研究人员认为，腐败地区对狱警的需求更大，因为“公务员被判有罪人数越多的州，总体腐败程度越严重。”

    当然，报告中并非全是坏消息，因为研究还发现了腐败程度最低的州，分别是俄勒冈州、华盛顿州、明尼苏达州、内布拉斯加州、爱荷华州、佛蒙特州、犹他州、新罕布什尔州、科罗拉多州和堪萨斯州。这些州的公民可以感到一丝安慰，因为他们被盘剥的程度要低于其他美国人。（财富中文网）

    译者：刘进龙/汪皓

    When we think of government corruption (as one tends to do), our biased minds often gravitate to thoughts of military juntas and third world governments. But, of course, corruption is everywhere, in one form or another. And it’s costing U.S. citizens big time.

    A new study from researchers at the University of Hong Kong and the University of Indiana estimates that corruption on the state level is costing Americans in the 10 most corrupt states an average of $1,308 per year, or 5.2% of those states’ average expenditures per year.

    The researchers studied more than 25,000 convictions of public officials for violation of federal corruption laws between 1976 and 2008 as well as patterns in state spending to develop a corruption index that estimates the most and least corrupt states in the union. Based on this method, the the most corrupt states are:

    1. Mississippi

    2. Louisiana

    3. Tennessee

    4. Illinois

    5. Pennsylvania

    6. Alabama

    7. Alaska

    8. South Dakota

    9. Kentucky

    10. Florida

    That these places landed on the list isn’t exactly surprising. Illinois, which has gain notoriety for its high-profile corruption cases in recent years, is paired with states like Mississippi and Louisiana, which are some of the least economically developed in the country. The researchers also found that for 9 out of the 10 of the most corrupt states, overall state spending was higher than in less corrupt states (South Dakota was the only exception). Attacking corruption, the researchers argue, could be a good way to bring down state spending without hurting services that people need.

    Researchers also found that spending in these states was different than their less corrupt counterparts. According to the report, “states with higher levels of corruption are likely to favor construction, salaries, borrowing, correction, and police protection at the expense of social sectors such as education, health and hospitals.”

    The paper explains that construction spending, especially on big infrastructure projects, is particularly susceptible to corruption because the quality of large, nonstandard projects are difficult for the public to gauge, while the industry is dominated by a few monopolistic firms. Corrupt states also tend to, for obvious reasons, simply have more and better paid public servants, including police and correctional officers. The researchers argue that the need for correctional officers is greater in corrupt places too because “the overall extent of corruption will be higher in states with higher numbers of convictions of public officials.”

    Of course, it’s not all bad news, as the study also found the least corrupt states too. Citizens of these states–Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Vermont, Utah, New Hampshire, Colorado, and Kansas–can take solace in the fact that they’re not getting ripped off as badly as the rest of us.