Most/Least Corrupt States-A 1,000th Post Quiz....

[Laxman]

I can't believe I'm about to make it to 1,000 posts. I know that's not much to most of you here, but for me-it only took 9 years. I once got a DU mail message from another member suggesting I change my DU name to Mr. Ed. Like Mr. Ed, I try to only post when I have something to say, but I do enjoy visiting this site. DU is the only place I do engage online, so I think making this milestone is worth doing something different. We'll have a little quiz-hopefully for some exciting political fun. (which should tell you something about what a downright nerd I am) I hope you choose to participate. Barring Chris Christie getting indicted this afternoon, I will stay off of DU and use my 1,000th post to give the answers and the explanation tonight. I need to work today anyway. So here you go:

Name the 10 most corrupt states in the U.S. (1 being the most corrupt)
Name the 10 least corrupt states in the U.S. (1 being the least corrupt)

there is a rational methodology to this. Its not just some made-up list. The methodology is not foolproof, but it is an objective and rational means of measuring corruption. You can probably do an internet search for the answers-but don't cheat-I'm not giving away any prizes. Plus remember-you're only cheating yourself! Post your answers and your rationale for your ranking. I'll give the answers tonight @ 11:00 EDT.

[nil desperandum]

1. Massachusetts

I live in Massachusetts and I would be willing to bet we come in amongst the top 10 most corrupt. The 3 previous speakers of the house have all been indicted, Flaherty plead guilty to tax evasion, Di Masi was convicted....the worst part is that the state investigations turned up nothing it was the feds who had to step in and get these guys...Billy Bulger resigned as UMASS president after serving for years as president of the state senate after he refused to cooperate with the feds to find his murdering, slime bag brother.

We have some great people here like Senator Warren, but we are often a bit too incestuous for our own good and we don't do a great job at policing the criminals from our ranks.

Not a model of honest, law-abiding elected officials.


I won't speak about other people's states because I don't live there and don't know their local politics as well as they do so I am not certain it's appropriate for me to read something in the media and accept it as fact if I'm not living there and experiencing that first hand.

[Beach Rat]

2. Too much thinking!

I'll do five of each

Most corrupt-NJ, NY, RI, AL, Fl

Least corrupt- WI, MN, IA, VT, NE

[Doctor_J]

5. I have doubts about WI

Walker and everyone associated with him are lucky not to be in prison

[Beach Rat]

7. Maybe you're right. I'm going to finish my list.

Most corrupt: LA, IL, MA, GA & OH

Least corrupt: KS, WA, OR, MT & DE

so there, I did 10 of each!

[Jackpine Radical]

3. I think I know what you're about here (crowd sourcing). Neat idea.

I'll play.

Most--
Florida-Pretty much everything
New Jersey-Mob influence
Maryland-Long history (think Spiro Agnew--said to be the least corrupt Md pol)
Louisiana-Owned by oil
Mississippi-Crony politics since forever
Texas-Oil & gas $$
Arizona-Brewer, Arpaio, etc.
Kentucky-Coal
Wisconsin (5 years ago I'd have put WI in the 10 LEAST corrupt, but since Walker--)

West VA-Coal industry
Tennessee-Coal

Runners-Up: , Nevada, Kentucky & Indiana

Least--
North Dakota
Minnesota
Vermont
Maine
Washington
Oregon
Montana
Idaho
Utah
Missouri

[KamaAina]

9. Louisiana has been corrupt since long before the oil and gas industry arrived

it was a good fit, from their prespective.

[Jackpine Radical]

11. Very true.

Huey Long was an angel compared to some of what went on there.

[Laxman]

17. Thanks Jackpine Radical...

you got the point! I appreciate the participation.

[LuckyLib]

4. Most corrupt: NJ, NY, MA, FL, IL, AL, MS, LA, TX

with AZ as the most vicious against women, folks of color, immigrants, and the poor. (That government puts it's energies elsewhere!)

Least corrupt: MN, IA, SD, ND, OR, WA, CA, MT, WY, NE

[Digit]

19. Did you forget to include NC under the corrupt category?

Seriously

[LuckyLib]

20. Guess I did. Don't follow NC too closely.

[Brainstormy]

6. I have a few nominees

Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida. Notice a pattern here?

[Jackpine Radical]

8. We need a lot more responses here, folks.

I believe this is a test of "crowdsourcing" information.

[oneofthe99]

10. Most corrupt is Rhode Island

Not even a question on that one. Most of our officials end up being investigated or in jail.



I would say the least corrupt in New England states would be CT

I love driving through CT and would like to live there but it is a very, very, expensive state to live in.

[Recursion]

14. DC only avoids that by not being a state

Five felony convictions among direct reports to the mayor, plus three felony investigations against the mayor himself. Beat that, Buddy Cianci!

[Laxman]

12. Well, We Didn't Get A Lot Of Participation.....

and I guess there are no more responses coming in so I'll give you the background and rankings now. Thank you to everyone who answered. I thought this would be an interesting and fun exercise. The Center for Public Integrity evaluated all 50 states based upon 14 separate criteria. You can access the results here: http://www.publicintegrity.org/2012/03/19/8423/grading-nation-how-accountable-your-state
The categories were as follows:

1. Public Access to Information
2. Executive Accountability
3. Judicial Accountability
4. State Civil Service Management
5. Internal Auditing
6. State Pension Fund Management
7. State Insurance Commissions
8. Political Financing
9. Legislative Accountability
10. State Budget Process
11. Procurement Practices
12. Lobbying Disclosure
13. Ethics Enforcement
14. Redistricting Process

Those are probably pretty good indicators. The results aren't what is important. Its the identification of the sources of corruption and the nature of how corrupt practices get a foothold. Purchasing, Insurance, a revolving door between government and private industry are all pretty commons sources for corrupt practices. This study gives a window into what types of rules, regulations or legislation can impact and help prevent public corruption. Take a look at your home states and see if this holds true where you live, and now that you know the rankings if they comport with your impressions.

I thought the perceptions of DU readers would be interesting as well as what drove your perceptions and they would make for an interesting discussion. So without further delay... the results- The ten most "corrupt" states in order finds Georgia as the most corrupt state:

10. Idaho
9. Nevada
8. North Dakota
7. Michigan
6. South Carolina
5. Maine
4. Virginia
3. Wyoming
2. South Dakota
1. Georgia

Believe it or not the least corrupt state was....wait for it.... NJ! (this is not a joke! ) The ten least corrupt states are:

10. Rhode Island
9. Kansas
8. Tennessee
7. Iowa
6. Mississippi
5. Nebraska
4. California
3. Washington
2. Connecticut
1. New Jersey

It has nothing to do with the number of corrupt officials-although some of the measures in place lead to increased detection and higher profile prosecutions in states on the less corrupt list vs. the most corrupt. So, a state may appear more corrupt because there are better mechanisms in place for discovering and prosecuting corrupt officials. One measure that didn't enter the evaluation, but correlated to the results was the existence or absence of a state house reporter(s) for a state-wide newspaper. States that had oversight from the press tended to be less corrupt.

And with that-I've finally made it to 1,000 posts!

[Recursion]

13. Your criteria focus on inputs rather than outputs

I think that's a weakness there.

Rhode Island, as your listing notes, has a lot of statutory protections against corruption -- but it's a mistake to assume that that makes them less corrupt than a state with fewer statutory protections against corruption (rather the opposite, in fact -- if a state doesn't feel the need to pass those kinds of laws, they may well be right).

By that logic, we could look at Superfund pollution cleanup usage and conclude that New Jersey is also the least polluted state, because it used the most superfund dollars.

I mean, who, for example, is South Dakota's answer to Buddy Cianci? The problem with corruption is not generally a problem of laws, but of the ability to ignore laws.

[Laxman]

15. That's An Excellent Point...

but here is the methodology the State Integrity Investigation project used: http://www.stateintegrity.org/methodology#Whattomeasure and I think there is validity to the criteria-but its certainly not foolproof. Buddy Cianci is certainly a poster boy for corruption by an individual. However, if the entire method of doing business in a state is opaque and corrupt is that better or worse that having an occasional high profile corrupt official? I don't know. That was the kind of discussion I hoped would come out of this.

[Recursion]

18. Oxfam is starting to pivot towards outcomes-based assessments

International development is more my milieu, but this certainly isn't just an issue with interstate comparisons.

However, if the entire method of doing business in a state is opaque and corrupt is that better or worse that having an occasional high profile corrupt official? I don't know.

I agree, and I think opacity is definitely an aid to corruption (certainly it is internationally). I'm reading stateintegrity's methods, and I still think a step is missing:

The Corruption Risk Report Card for each state examines three concepts:

The existence of public integrity mechanisms, including laws and institutions, which promote public accountability and limit corruption.
The effectiveness of those mechanisms, such as their insulation from political interference, their level of staffing, and their ability to impose penalties.
The access that citizens have to those mechanisms, such as access to public records at reasonable cost and within a reasonable time

OK, but the third step is that those mechanisms have to actually do things. DC has good public integrity mechanisms for contracting on paper, but they either refuse to do anything or have their penalties ignored (maybe that's under the rubric of #2, but I don't see how to measure actual rather than nominal independence of a body).

[Art_from_Ark]

21. New Jersey's the least corrupt state?

Who funded this study, anyway? Governor Christie?

[davidpdx]

22. I knew I smelled donuts somewhere

[Blue_In_AK]

16. I just now saw this.

State politics in Alaska is, and has been, so dirty for so long that people just think it's normal now. This is the corrupting influence of Big Oil. And, of course, our Representative Don Young is a regular on CREW's list.

If we don't get into the Top 10, it's only because of lack of publicity. Being so isolated is good in some ways, but not so good in others.


ed. I see we scored a solid D+. I'm sure if more was known Outside about what goes on here, we would have cracked the Top 10. I KNOW it.