The Daily Beast blog came out with their list of the "Most Corrupt States" and thankfully Missouri and Kansas are not in the top ten--like neighbor Oklahoma is at 10--but Missouri is at the 15 spot.
We need to do better, people. We need to demand much better of our legislators.
And if you don't think we need to do better, on this list, we beat out New Jersey and New York state, for pity's sake, in corruption.
Yikes.
Rep. Jason Kander's attempt at ethics reform in Jefferson City would be a great start.
The information:
#15, Missouri
Public Corruption: 24
Racketeering & Extortion: 25
Fraud Rank: 24
Forgery & Counterfeiting: 6
Embezzlement: 34
Recent Scandal: For such a simple scheme, it's amazing that Denny Ray Hardin of Kansas City got as far as he did. Hardin allegedly used his home computer to concoct bonded promissory notes he said were authorized by the US Department of Treasury. The notes were, Hardin claimed, as good as money. Problem is, there's no such thing as a bonded promissory note, and, as such, they were not authorized by the US Department of Treasury. Hardin doled out $100 million worth of the notes to friends, family, and customers who paid $100 per note. He faces 11 counts of fictitious obligations and 10 counts of mail fraud.
Link to original post:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/1610/1/
If you go to the link above, note that, unfortunately, they use a picture of Kansas City's downtown as their picture for the state.
Dangit.
On a far more positive note, Kansas was ranked very near the bottom of this list, at 44.
Good on ya', Kansans and Topeka (the capital). Clearly we Missourians need to emulate more of what you do and how you live.
Enjoy this beautiful day, folks.
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1 comment:
Helping to turn the tide and improve Missouri's Corruption Ranking starts at the state's largest university in Columbia. The school has gone money crazy and will breach ANY ethical line to get more money. This also teaches the students that ethics don't matter. The result - more MU grads like Ken Lay of ENRON fame, or the hackers or the MU educated Iraqi terrorist. Start by examining the staff of the Alumni Association. It's director is a poster boy for what is wrong in education today. Hypocrisy and dishonesty abound in this organization.
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