Inside America's Corruption Capital - Washington D.C. 🇺🇸

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Congressional trade-disclosure violations commonly draw $200 fines, and the House Ethics Committee often waives them.
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The House allocated $1.2 million annually to the California Prostitutes Education Program and funded public-relations staff across agencies.
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The CDC spent $60 million discouraging smoking while another federal institution spent $60 million subsidizing tobacco production.
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Cotton producers used hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars to fund Indian reality shows promoting U.S. cotton.
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The USDA fined Mr. Horne $750,000 after he challenged its raisin set-aside rule, then he prevailed at the Supreme Court.
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Federal programs made more than $300 billion in improper payments during fiscal year 2023.
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Use-it-or-lose-it budgeting produced wall-to-wall stockpiles of office paper, stacked five reams deep.
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The USDA required raisin growers to surrender a government-determined share of their crop without immediate payment.
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The federal government has no official count of its agencies. Informal estimates put the number near 440.
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The CDC Foundation receives pharmaceutical-company support while the CDC publicizes products and disease areas tied to those companies.
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The United States Department of Agriculture has an annual budget exceeding $380 billion and more than 100,000 employees.
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Federal workplaces can punish overperformance when doing too much work harms reviews and promotion prospects.
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In a huge, diverse country, earmarks and political bargaining can assemble the coalition needed for consequential national policy.
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Paying high-risk public employees wages that reflect their work may reduce incentives for corruption.
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If public officials are underpaid and insecure after office, financial anxiety can turn public service into monetization.
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Constitutional litigation can hold government accountable for abuses and shrink the scope of its authority.
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Horne v. Department of Agriculture ruled that taking part of a raisin farmer’s crop without compensation violated the Fifth Amendment.
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Most people entering Congress have good intentions. Dysfunctional incentives can still produce terrible outcomes.
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Hidden supply chains and infrastructure link Americans across regions through food, energy, telecommunications, and Louisiana oil.
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Treat every claim skeptically, even plausible ones. That habit strengthens analysis and supports self-government.
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Homeowners have more reason to care about a community’s future because their property is tied to it.

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