[rudhdb773b]

I don't know why this is down voted. It's a very valid point.

In countries where the police and government officials can be bought for pocket change by the middle class, the masses have relatively more power vs the elite who control the central government.

[JumpCrisscross]

It’s a stupid point that ignores how corruption actually works, particularly when someone thinks being able to bribe the local police means an ordinary person in Venezuela has more power than an average American.

[rudhdb773b]

It's not. I'm not familiar with Venezuela, but here in SE Asia if I want to open a small business say a bar along the beach, I just pay off the local police with a small cut of my profits. Where I grew up in the US, it would either be impossible or takes years and millions of dollars to get all the approvals.

That's a real-world difference that gives the middle class more freedom to start a business that is really only feasible for the wealthy in the US.

[JumpCrisscross]

> I just pay off the local police with a small cut of my profits. Where I grew up in the US, it would either be impossible or takes years and millions of dollars to get all the approvals

You’re comparing permitting processes. That’s orthogonal to corruption. You can set up a beach bar in most of America without a permit and without getting cited for months on end, too, and plenty of people do it. (The pot-brownie sellers in Dolores Park aren’t licensed.)

[woooooo]

Its not orthogonal, they are saying that the corruption is an easier permitting process.

The main point of this thread that I found very poignant was the accessibility of corruption. In the USA, only the rich get to be corrupt.