Most of our readers might consider the title funny and nonsensical. But is corruption altogether bad? My answer is: No. Corrupt practices have their use. What are some of these?
For one, it facilitates transactions. What could last half a day processing a document could be done in less than an hour. These days speed is critical. Everybody is in a hurry. Corruption provides a solution.
It speeds up action. No time is wasted, making the processing of documents faster than the usual norm. This makes the recipient of corruption more productive since he or she will have more time to do income-generating endeavors.
Money earned from corruption flows back into the economy through the beneficiaries of corruption. Most of the money given to corrupt government officials is used to buy real estate and set up big businesses thereby creating employment and improving family incomes of the recipients of the “katas ng corruption.”
It is also a way of redistributing income because many times part of the “katas” goes to poor families possibly through vote-buying. In this sense, corruption is developmental. It promotes a “Robin Hood” perception of the corrupt official, where these officials share their benefits with the poor, assisting them in time of need. Isn’t this what they should be doing? Who would not vote for Robin Hood?
Many of us think that corruption is always bad for the social fabric and economic foundations of our country. But as shown above there are compelling reasons why corruption is advantageous and must be tolerated.
Corruption cannot be stopped. It will only get bigger because most of the population benefit from it, directly or indirectly. They are happy. Those who do not benefit are unhappy. It is really that simple.
Sorry, I must stop here. I simply ran out of reasons. I just could not think of more. I realized that the advantages of corruption pale in comparison with its disadvantages. But that is another story.
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