News Arizonas the Most Corrupt State in America, According to Survey By Matthew Hendley Fri., Dec. 5 2014 at 12:45 PM 117 Comments Categories: News az-old-capitol-hendley.jpg Matthew Hendley Arizonas home to the most political corruption in America. Thats according to a survey of reporters nationwide, done by researchers at Harvard Universitys Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics. The researchers outlined several problems with basing corruption just on convictions, like incomplete data sets and the politics involved in such prosecutions, among other things. An alternative to a measure based on convictions is a measure based on perceptions, the researchers say in a written explanation of their results. Their explanation says previous researchers have made a compelling argument regarding why we should survey reporters rather than another group of professionals such as trial lawyers or small business owners to measure government corruption. Reporters have a better knowledge of state governments and spend a great deal of time observing the government officials and interacting with them, they say. So, these reporters were asked to gauge how common it is to see legal corruption or illegal corruption in their states legislative, judicial, and executive branches: We define illegal corruption as the private gains in the form of cash or gifts by a government official, in exchange for providing specific benefits to private individuals or groups. It is the form of corruption that attracts a great deal of public attention. A second form of corruption, however, is becoming more and more common in the U.S.: legal corruption. We define legal corruption as the political gains in the form of campaign contributions or endorsements by a government official, in exchange for providing specific benefits to private individuals or groups, be it by explicit or implicit understanding. Heres what Arizonas reporters had to say: Illegal corruption in the executive branch: very common. Illegal corruption in the legislative branch: very common. Illegal corruption in the judicial branch: slightly common. Legal corruption in the executive branch: moderately common. Legal corruption in the legislative branch: very common. Legal corruption in the judicial branch: slightly common. Putting that all together, Arizonas easily perceived as the most corrupt state. legal_vs_illegal.jpg Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics We asked the researchers, Illinois State University associate professor Oguzhan Dincer and Colgate University professor Michael Johnston, if theres any other research that points to Arizona being a hotbed of corruption. Thats not to say we needed any more proof, but they have some. Dincer pointed us to previous research he and Johnston have done on the subject, by creating an index based on corruption news stories across the United States from 1977 to 2012. Looking at the period average, Arizona is again one of the most corrupt states (in top 10), Dincer says. For those who have followed Arizona political news for any time, the states high ranking is hardly surprising. Arizonas politicians have been embroiled in scandals such as the sting operation known as AzScam, or the Alt-Fuels Fiasco. Lest we forget that onetime Governor Ev Mecham was impeached, despite later being acquitted of various felony charges. Even recently, Democratic lawmaker Ben Arredondo was busted in an FBI bribery sting, and convicted on corruption charges. There are also seemingly common examples of the so-called legal corruption at the state legislature. And thats just the state government -- Arizonas representatives in the federal government, as well as local politicians, have been caught up in plenty of scandals, ranging from the Keating Five, to many things Sheriff Joe Arpaio has done while in office. Got a tip? Send it to: Matthew Hendley. Follow Valley Fever on Twitter at @ValleyFeverPHX. Follow Matthew Hendley at @MatthewHendley.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 09:07:19 +0000
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