????但是，在20世紀(jì)70年代，隨著美國(guó)政府開(kāi)始嚴(yán)厲打擊有組織犯罪，尤其是毒品交易，這一“扭曲的梯子”已不復(fù)存在，而如今受壓迫的少數(shù)民族又少了一條生財(cái)之道。曾幾何時(shí)，打點(diǎn)警察讓其對(duì)毒品交易、非法賭博和賣(mài)淫睜一只眼閉一只眼是常有的事。但是美國(guó)打擊犯罪和惡行的決心已將有組織犯罪組織和當(dāng)局之間不成文的停戰(zhàn)協(xié)議轉(zhuǎn)化為全面戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)。在這場(chǎng)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)中，少數(shù)民族年輕人被投入監(jiān)獄，并于隨后因人們對(duì)罪犯的成見(jiàn)而被迫又回到充滿犯罪的生活當(dāng)中。

????在國(guó)家層面，我們實(shí)際上可以來(lái)看看腐敗是如何提升國(guó)會(huì)效率的。美國(guó)眾議院所謂的“專項(xiàng)撥款”（earmarks）已被禁4年，而專項(xiàng)撥款是提案人為拉攏特定國(guó)會(huì)議員而在大型提案中所安插的為該國(guó)會(huì)議員特定項(xiàng)目提供資金的開(kāi)支條款。這是典型的行賄，只不過(guò)換了種方式而已：“為議案投票，我們將給你提供你想要的東西。”與此同時(shí)，由于專項(xiàng)撥款已被禁止，因此國(guó)會(huì)一直都難以開(kāi)展任何工作，而國(guó)會(huì)兩黨的政客們和無(wú)數(shù)評(píng)論員也在苦苦哀求禁令的解除。

????大部分時(shí)候，腐敗官員像寄生蟲(chóng)一樣通過(guò)掠奪社會(huì)資源來(lái)中飽私囊。此外，隨著腐敗現(xiàn)象變得越來(lái)越普遍，有道德的人將失去對(duì)體制的信心，他們誠(chéng)實(shí)工作的動(dòng)力也會(huì)因此而消失。但是，我們要知道，因?yàn)槲覀兩钤谝粋€(gè)并不完美的世界，些許可控的腐敗可能會(huì)成為解決某些最糟糕問(wèn)題的潤(rùn)滑劑。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：Xiang

????But, in the 1970s, as the U.S. government got serious about cracking down on organized crime in general and the drug trade in particular, that crooked ladder was destroyed, leaving today’s downtrodden minorities with one fewer avenue to gain wealth. It was once common to bribe police officers to turn a blind eye to the drug trade, illegal gambling, and prostitution. But America’s zeal for stamping out crime and vice has transformed the unwritten armistice between organized crime and the authorities to an all-out war, in which minority youth are imprisoned and subsequently forced back into a life of crime due to the stigma against felons.

????On a national level, we can see how corruption can actually make Congress more efficient. For four years, the House of Representatives has been operating under a ban of so-called “earmarks,” or spending provisions tacked on to a larger bill that fund pet projects of a specific congressman that bill sponsors are trying to woo. This is, of course, bribery by any other name: “Vote for this bill and we’ll give you something you want.” At the same time, since earmarks have been banned, Congress has been unable to get much of anything done, leading politicians on both sides of the aisle and countlesscommentatorsto beg for their return.

????Most of the time, corrupt officials are like parasites that feed off society and benefit only themselves. Furthermore, as corruption becomes more prevelant, ethical people lose faith in the system and are sapped of their drive to work honestly. But it’s important to understand that because we live in an imperfect world, a bit of controlled corruption can function as a lubricant to overcome some of our worst problems.