The researchers studied more than 25,000 convictions of public officials for violation of federal corruption laws between 1976 and 2008 as well as patterns in state spending to develop a corruption index that estimates the most and least corrupt states in the union. Based on this method, the the most corrupt states are:1. Mississippi [#7 on the Business Insider list]
2. Louisiana [#1 on the Business Insider list]
3. Tennessee [#17 on the Business Insider list]
4. Illinois [#16 on the Business Insider list]
5. Pennsylvania [#14 on the Business Insider list]
6. Alabama [#8 on the Business Insider list]
7. Alaska [#5 on the Business Insider list]
8. South Dakota [#3 on the Business Insider list]
9. Kentucky [#4 on the Business Insider list]
10. Florida [#19 on the Business Insider list]....spending in these states was different than their less corrupt counterparts. According to the report, states with higher levels of corruption are likely to favor construction, salaries, borrowing, correction, and police protection at the expense of social sectors such as education, health and hospitals.
If New York is not even in the top 10, this country is in an even more dire straights than I imagine....