A newly released study by Transparency International finds the
United States less corrupt now than it was in 2011. According to
the survey's rankings, the U.S. is the 19th least corrupt
country in the world this year; in 2011, the U.S. ranked 24th.
"The Corruption Perceptions Index scores countries on a scale
from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). While no country
has a perfect score, two-thirds of countries score below 50,
indicating a serious corruption problem," writes the group that
focuses on corruption. "Corruption translates into human
suffering, with poor families being extorted for bribes to see
doctors or to get access to clean drinking water. It leads to
failure in the delivery of basic services like education or
healthcare. It derails the building of essential infrastructure,
as corrupt leaders skim funds. "Corruption amounts to a dirty
tax, and the poor and most vulnerable are its primary victims."
America's numerical score this year is 73 (with 100 being least
corrupt and 0 being most); in