MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH UKRAINIAN POLICE CORRUPTION. In the states, police depa

MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH UKRAINIAN POLICE CORRUPTION.

In the states, police departments raise money with irrelevant speed traps, stoplight cameras and buckle-up campaigns and other administrative forms of extortion.

It’s corruption sure. It’s just procedural corruption. It’s systemic but impersonal.

Here in Kiev. On the way home from the restaurant. Our taxi is pulled over by a lone policeman who flagged us down with a flashlight. He claimed the street was restricted at this time – although there were no signs, it’s a main street lined with cars, and other cars were on the road with us.

Apparently it’s 20 bucks to get out of a fabricated infraction. The policeman pocketed the money and we drove off.

I told my admittedly educated Ukrainian friends that this sort of direct corruption might not be better than the more advanced indirect corruption that’s so pervasive in the states.

They responded that no, the visible corruption makes people distrust the government.

And I agreed. It makes people hold an accurate view of government.

Ticketing moms in minivans for going three miles over the speed limit on four lane roads in clear weather on one hand. And allowing nine arrests before a car thief does jail time, letting meth heads free reign to commit petty crimes in our rural areas because its difficult and expensive to lock them up, allowing massive illegal immigration as a matter of political utility in seizing power through immigration that cannot be obtained through argument and reason, jailing right wing movie makers while heralding left wingers.

Ukraine has a problem that’s fixable with articulated property rights, imported western judges, pay increases for policemen and an independent internal affairs organization to

Investigate and monitor corruption. And the right of citizens to sue anyone in the government for corruption or damage from incompetence.

You can’t fix the USA without breaking it up and starting over.