[quote=FlyerInHi]We have less need for corruption because we have an established system for former politicians to trade access to power for legitimate $ millions. There’s the revolving door to corporate jobs.

In some countries, a minister’s salary maybe a paltry $1000 per month. That’s why Singapore has zero tolerance but pays their officials the highest in the world. That started when they were poor.

Singapore always scores near the lowest in the corruption index.[/quote]
I think that might depend on which side of the fence you sit, and how legitimate you feel the $ millions paid are, and how legitimate you feel it is to access power in that way. Corruption is very much an ‘established system’ for doing business. That doesn’t make it any less corrupt. Anyway, as another poster said earlier, it isn’t all necessarily bad. Where lobbying fails democracy is when special interests gain concessions and profit to the unambiguous detriment of the populace. My opinion is that the failure of gun control legislation is a clear case in point.