Corruption…
How does it really affect us? Well, let’s consider the facts and then combine it into a logical conclusion
The facts of Life
The sun rises, and sets every day. During this cycle, all good citizens go to work, spend 4-16 hours of their day working (depending on their circumstances), return home, make food, look after the kids, take a bath, go to bed and follow pretty much the same routine again the next day. Some like their work; more tolerate in and most hate it.
Due to work pressure, most marriages fall apart because there is simply not enough time to work on your marriage in between all the responsibilities and bills to pay. Like it or not, you have to make quality time for your partner in order to sustain a healthy relationship. Your children grow and develop whilst you miss most of the process and joy, then, when you gain a moment to catch your breath; your life is utterly spent on doing something you had to do in order to survive. Your children are grown and likely to follow the same route.
The facts of Corruption
During this life spent by all good citizens, a large portion of their money goes toward tax. Yes, the word that makes most people squeal in agony when heard. Why? Simply because you are doing everything in your power to survive, whilst you miss life as mentioned above, and then, someone you do not even know, puts their hands into your pocket, takes what they want, and leaves you with the rest.
All good and well; tax needs to be paid in order to help a country move forward, build infrastructure, create jobs and ultimately alleviate some of the pressures faced by these good citizens.
NOW. These large amounts of tax are entrusted, by the country, into the hands of government in order to deliver infrastructure, work and so forth. Government… you know the people you vote for on Election Day? Yes, them… The problem with corruption that we hear of so often is that these large amounts of money are being wasted, misused, mismanaged, stolen and lost into a vacuum of stupidity. Now what? Municipalities are not delivering the services they are supposed to, government cannot implement the infrastructure all people depend on, and jobs are not only not being created, but are being lost because guess what, corruption has showed its ugly face.
So, how does government solve the problem of not having enough money in order to do what they are supposed to? The answer is simple; they get more ways to tax the good citizens. From tax being applied to lottery winnings, to e-toll being forced unto people and the list goes on
Have you ever seen a poor minister or child or even grandchild of a minster? Not? Well, it is obvious that they look after each other. But not only look after, oh no… They splurge out large amounts of money received from tax into their extravagant lifestyles. Yes, you and I work, struggle to make ends meet, miss out on life, suffer consequences of excessive work, but government officials laugh all the way to the bank.
Another example of corruption is on the police force. If a government official is corrupt, and he has the backing power of corrupt individuals in a police force, who can stop him/her? It is a recipe of utter disaster to say the least
Summary
In summary, corruption makes a country move backwards. It literally steals the lives of people, and places power into the hands of criminals. I do not know about you, but for me, that is a VERY SCARY THOUGHT. I just hope and pray that God intervenes in some way to help eliminate corrupt individuals placed in positions of power. There is nothing more destructive, than a criminal (corrupt individual) with power and authority
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