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What I've noticed is while there's absolutely corruption at high levels in America, amongst the rich, there's almost no situation where (say) you have to sneakily hand over an extra $20 at the DMV to get your driver's license. Or slip your nurse at the hospital an extra $50 to make sure she cares for you appropriately. Or get a lavish gift for teacher so you can get the grade you need to get into the right school.
I mean, here or there people can try that stuff, but it's still a legit scandal if it happens, it's not baked into society.
Whereas that sort of casual greasing-of-hands with an extra $5 here, extra $20 there $50 there at every single level even amongst not-rich folks can supposedly be common in heavily corrupted societies.
Yeah, there's corruption--but it's pretty over-our-heads for everyday stuff. It's not baked into everyday interactions we have if we go down the street to the grocery store, or want to get a Passport done.