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A Bribery Ban Backfires

Couts Wrote: Apr 29, 2012 4:42 PM

"If the goal is to make ourselves feel good, this law is a success. It's a failure only if the point is to actually do good." That statement applies to many of Obama's policies as well. Corruption in México is part of the culture, but (of course) greasing of the wheels occurs here in a more subtle, but no less effective, form. It's anti-business (anti-free markets) regulations that encourage corruption. Thomas Sowell, referring to this kind of thing (paraphrasin) once said that the more laws in the books the more corruption is encouraged (or something to that effect).

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A Bribery Ban Backfires

Until 1977, there was no country that criminalized the practice of bribery abroad. But that year, President Jimmy Carter signed a law making the United States the very first. In due course, this measure eliminated corruption from every nation where our corporations operate.

Yes, it did -- right after Carter got a tattoo and a Harley. In fact, bribery remains a way of life in much of the world, including rapidly developing countries where American multinationals need to be. These firms often are forced to choose between following age-old local custom in order to compete and obeying U.S. law, which may leave...

Related Tags: Corruption Wal-Mart corporations