Culture of Corruption

No, this time it's not about Bush -- at least not directly. The federal government takeover of huge UMDNJ (The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey) due to massive Medicaid fraud at the school is what I have in mind. Apparently this has been going on for 20 years or so, and the Board of Trustees, along with many other people, has been aware of it but did nothing to stop it. The government was defrauded of a least several millions of dollars, perhaps much more.

These people who were running UMDNJ are presumably highly educated, well-placed individuals, living comfortable lives in upscale suburban homes. These are our most respected physicians, some of our leading educators and research scientists. You just have to wonder how thoroughly corrupted the movers and shakers of our society must be to allow this kind of thing to go on right under their noses without lifting a finger to stop it.

This obviously doesn't stop at the doors to UMDNJ. It seems to be endemic in our society these days, from the corporate scandals (e.g., Enron), to the political scandals (e.g., DeLay, Frist, Abramoff), to the Presidential scandals (repeated lying to Congress and the public), the whole country seems to be pervaded with corruption.

I don't know what kind of housecleaning is going to be required to rid ourselves of this pervasive cancer of corruption, but it clearly is going to have to be a massive effort. And, who is going to do it?