Verified Document

Political Corruption According To The Term Paper

" Over two-thirds of Haitians depend on agriculture (small subsistence farms), which is vulnerable to violent storms and erosion (deforestation). Haiti struggles economically due to "higher inflation than similar low-income countries, a lack of investment, and a severe trade deficit," the CIA reports. Per capital annual income in Haiti is estimated at $1,800. Even the labor force (3.6 million workers) is shaky, as "more than two-thirds" of Haiti's workers have no "formal jobs." Haitian's main exports include coffee, oils, cocoa, mangoes and some manufactured goods - over 80% of which goes to the U.S. Another export identified with Haiti is cocaine, which enters the country from Columbia and is transported to Europe and the U.S.; "traffickers favor Haiti for illicit financial transactions," the CIA reports. There are about 8,000 United Nations peacekeepers in Haiti to "maintain civil order" and put down "civil unrest."

Journalist Amy Bracken writes that "due to the dismal economy, rising prices and ongoing environmental degradation, rural parents are pushed into "blindly casting their children off into indentured servitude" (Bracken, 2006). Some children between five and 17 years of age are actually sold into slavery, to work "unpaid" in other families' homes for food and shelter. They are called "restaveks" (child slaves), and the estimates of how many range upwards of 8.2% of all children in that age group. With poverty this severe, political corruption can and does occur in Haiti.

NORWAY: Norway is ranked #8 on the CPI, behind Iceland, Finland, Denmark, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland. The CIA World Factbook records that in the 1960s, Norway discovered oil and gas in its offshore waters, which was a welcome addition to its list of plentiful natural resources (iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, titanium, pyrites, nickel, fish, timber and hydropower). Whereas in Haiti natural disasters come in the form of powerful hurricanes, in Norway there are far less destructive "rockslides" and "avalanches," the CIA explains. Also, as far as trade, Norway has the advantage of being "adjacent to sea lanes and air routes" in the North Atlantic region.

The infant mortality rate in Norway is only 3.67 deaths per 1,000...

That educational fact alone sheds light on how well the population is prepared to keep track of what their government is doing with their tax money and in other matters. Only 0.1% of Norwegians have AIDS, whereas 5.6% of Haitians have AIDS.
Economically, Norway is "a prosperous bastion of welfare capitalism," the CIA narrative continues. Only Saudi Arabia and Russia export more petroleum than Norway, with oil and gas counting over one-third of Norway's exports. Norwegians understand that the oil reserves it has will eventually be depleted, hence, the political leaders - and citizens - decided long ago to put aside a Petroleum Fund, which is now valued at more than $250 billion. Although two-thirds of Norway's geography is mountainous, and there are over 50,000 rocky and steep islands along it's jagged coastline, Norwegian farmers grow health crops of barley, wheat, and potatoes, and raise cattle (which produces pork, beef, veal, and milk) and fish. Making the most out of the land is a sign of a well-organized society.

Unemployment in Norway is about 3.5% and the annual per capital income is $47,800 (compared with Haiti's puny $1,800). In Haiti, there are a total of 4 airports with paved runways; in Norway, there are 67 airports with paved runways. Given the education levels in Norway, and the natural resources and productivity / wealth of its people, it should not come as a surprise that this nation, unlike Haiti, has very little political corruption.

Works Cited

Braken, Amy. "Haiti's Children Pay the Price of Poverty." NACLA Report on the Americas

CIA Factbook. "Haiti." Retrieved 10 March 2007 from https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/print/ha.html.

CIA Factbook. "Norway." Retrieved 10 March 2007 from https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/print/no.html.

Eigen, Peter. "Corruption still rampant in 70 countries, says Corruption Perception Index

2005." Transparency International. Retrieved 11 March, 2007, at http://www.transparency.org.

Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Braken, Amy. "Haiti's Children Pay the Price of Poverty." NACLA Report on the Americas

CIA Factbook. "Haiti." Retrieved 10 March 2007 from https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/print/ha.html.

CIA Factbook. "Norway." Retrieved 10 March 2007 from https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/print/no.html.

Eigen, Peter. "Corruption still rampant in 70 countries, says Corruption Perception Index
2005." Transparency International. Retrieved 11 March, 2007, at http://www.transparency.org.
Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2005. Retrieved 10 March, 2007, at http://www.transparency.org.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Corruptions Matters Comparison Between Hong Kong and Other International...
Words: 8526 Length: 28 Document Type: Dissertation

Corruption Anti-Corruption No one is immune from the power of corruption. Of course there are orders of magnitude and people can be corrupted in little ways that do not seem to matter, but many times the people that are corrupted are the very ones who are supposed to be manning the public trust. The very people citizens hope are the most incorruptible are, unfortunately, the most susceptible. Lord Acton said that "Power

Corruption the Relationship Between Corruption and Democracy
Words: 4046 Length: 15 Document Type: Term Paper

Corruption The relationship between corruption and democracy as a political institution has been at the core of studies and researches for political science since its beginnings. The development made in the filed of Political Science along the years has influenced the way scientists perceived and analyzed the corruption phenomenon. Charles H. Blake nad Stephen D. Morris have gathered under the all embracing title Corruption and Democracy in Latin America, the works

Political Stability and National Security in Nigeria Challenges and...
Words: 6027 Length: 20 Document Type: Research Paper

Political Stability & National Security in Nigeria: Challenges & Prospects Method of data analysis Limitations encountered Strategies for political stability to enhance national security Political stability and national security in Nigeria: Challenges and prospects The research will focus on the effects of political stability and national security in Nigeria. The time span of the study is between 1999 and 2010. This period was chosen to enable the researcher examine the effects of political stability on

Corruption Ethics in Business Since End of Cold War
Words: 1814 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Corruption/Ethics in Business Since the End of the Cold War The Cold War in essence refers to the fierce and open rivalry that started to develop between the United States of America and her various allies, and the Soviet Union and all her allies, after the conclusion of the Second World War. Why this rivalry was called the Cold War was because of the fact that it did not involve any

Political Philosophers
Words: 2799 Length: 7 Document Type: Term Paper

Man and the Right Government Plato's work has been much criticized as class bound, as many thought it reflected the moral and aesthetic standards of an elite in a civilization were slavery was a natural thing for many. Plato tries to depict the advantages of the rule of society by a high-minded minority. After describing the first political utopia of the western world, Plato starts analyzing the types of government that

Political Scandals in Canada a Political Scandal
Words: 1937 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

Political Scandals in Canada A Political Scandal Involving Fraud During the federal election in Canada in 2011 there was an electoral fraud issue that became known as the "Robocalls Scandal." This fraudulent activity took place in Ontario, in a town called Guelph. Robocalls are previously recorded and automated phone calls to people from a computer that is programmed to call all phone numbers in a given area; usually robocalls carry a political message

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now