I don’t think they realize how corrosive to their power corruption is. If they think that the government is bad; just wait until the low level people start thinking that the whole hierarchy is corrupt. Then it will become impossible to undo the damage.

Hell a Russian spy who keeps the people below thinking he’s honest does far less damage than a loyal American who gives off the impression that he is corrupted.

This lying about numbers is eating the soul which will undermine the whole country in ways hard to imagine.