# Fortune ranks the 10 most Corrupt States. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 22, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fortune-ranks-the-10-most-corrupt-states/691379 "2014-06-22T19:27:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fortune-ranks-the-10-most-corrupt-states/691379/41 "2014-06-25T03:28:25Z")
Pennsylvania would have finished higher with more recent data. Governor Corbett has chugged a lot of cock keeping the Marcellus Shale drillers happy and I’m sure they left him more than a twenty on the nightstand. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fortune-ranks-the-10-most-corrupt-states/691379/42 "2014-06-25T04:34:28Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > Florida’s only number 10! _sniffs_ I’m so proud we’re not the worst, for once. They were looking at convictions, perhaps the cops there are just bad. Or they’re all standing around the latest traffic accident and got no time to check on other stuff disclaimer: it’s been forever since I lived in Florida, maybe the cops now have something else they spend too much time on ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fortune-ranks-the-10-most-corrupt-states/691379/43 "2014-06-25T12:19:11Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > Seriously. How the fuck is NJ not on this list? And how the hell does anything take Christie seriously on anything after his repeated fuck-ups? Meh. Christie is just the tip of the iceberg. He’s not even particularly good at it. For the real corruption you have to look at the local level. In most of the state its one party rule. Mostly democrats with pockets of republicans. But when there is one party it doesn’t really matter what it is called. [Frank Hague](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Hague) laid the groundwork for New Jersey political corruption that can still be seen today. Today we don’t have one guy controlling the state from the mayor’s seat in Jersey City. The control is more subtle now. But the effect is the same. A good starting [point](http://www.thesopranostate.com/index.htm) if anyone is interested. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fortune-ranks-the-10-most-corrupt-states/691379/44 "2014-06-25T14:08:54Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > I’d just like to point out that New Jersey is NOT on the list. Patience. The Fortune researcher for New Jersey is still stuck on the George Washington Bridge. As soon as he can get to the office with his results I am sure New Jersey will move into the top 10. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fortune-ranks-the-10-most-corrupt-states/691379/45 "2014-06-25T19:47:37Z")
Is New York state really all that corrupt? I haven’t lived here (upstate) very long, but it seems a lot less corrupt than Illinois was. Keep in mind that New York is more than NYC. NYC contains less than half the state’s population. Even if the city is really corrupt, the rest of the state may balance that out. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fortune-ranks-the-10-most-corrupt-states/691379/46 "2014-06-26T03:53:58Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Meh. Christie is just the tip of the iceberg. He’s not even particularly good at it. For the real corruption you have to look at the local level. In most of the state its one party rule. Mostly democrats with pockets of republicans. But when there is one party it doesn’t really matter what it is called. [Frank Hague](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Hague) laid the groundwork for New Jersey political corruption that can still be seen today. Today we don’t have one guy controlling the state from the mayor’s seat in Jersey City. The control is more subtle now. But the effect is the same. > > A good starting [point](http://www.thesopranostate.com/index.htm) if anyone is interested. Agree to disagree. The state’s corruption runs along the 287-78 corridor from Steve Forbes wanting a flat tax so the poor pay his tax burden to the lovely tax-objectors along 78 who refuse funding to plow a major state artery during snow storms to save themselves an extra nickle, no matter how many cars crash each year. Maybe I shouldn’t mention again how it took 4 governors to finally get the construction company crooks sucking us dry in unmanned heavy equipment rentals on “unfinished” 287 OFF of 287… but it only took one [del]bought and paid for Keystone lobbyist[/del] “Honest US Attorney” to bring every one of them back… this time on the “its not finished til we get back all the money we funneled into his war-chest” Garden State Parkway. I do agree that it must have taken a Lot of restraint for the totally biased 101.5 to only endorse that book 5 reviews down. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fortune-ranks-the-10-most-corrupt-states/691379/47 "2014-06-26T07:15:32Z")
Motto of Chicago and no doubt Illinois, “Ubi est mea”. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fortune-ranks-the-10-most-corrupt-states/691379/48 "2014-06-26T12:12:49Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > It seems like an odd assumption to think “this state spends a lot on construction and police, therefore it is corrupt”. I’d expect there’s a pretty good historic correlation between road construction and bribes/payoffs. Anytime there’s lots of public money floating around and a chance for private contractors to benefit, watch out. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fortune-ranks-the-10-most-corrupt-states/691379/49 "2014-06-26T12:29:50Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Agree to disagree. The state’s corruption runs along the 287-78 corridor from Steve Forbes wanting a flat tax so the poor pay his tax burden to the lovely tax-objectors along 78 who refuse funding to plow a major state artery during snow storms > to save themselves an extra nickle, no matter how many cars crash each year. > > Maybe I shouldn’t mention again how it took 4 governors to finally get the construction company crooks sucking us dry in unmanned heavy equipment rentals on “unfinished” 287 OFF of 287… but it only took one [del]bought and paid for Keystone lobbyist[/del] > “Honest US Attorney” to bring every one of them back… this time on the “its not finished til we get back all the money we funneled into his war-chest” Garden State Parkway. > > I do agree that it must have taken a Lot of restraint for the totally biased 101.5 to only endorse that book 5 reviews down. Plenty of corruption in north and south Jersey too. Norcross is in South Jersey. Of course 101.5 would endorse the book. Bob Ingle was a weekly contributor. I don’t listen regularly so I don’t know if he still does. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fortune-ranks-the-10-most-corrupt-states/691379/50 "2014-06-26T18:04:29Z")
I’m disappointed that North Carolina is nowhere near the top ten. We raised the alcohol limit to 15%, instituted a lottery, legalized non-noisy fireworks, and put our House Speaker in jail for taking a bribe from (gasp) _Chiropractors_! What more do we have to do? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fortune-ranks-the-10-most-corrupt-states/691379.md?page=2)