A 2015 State Integrity Study, released this Monday from the Center for Public Integrity, analyzed the amount of corruption and dirty politics in each state and, of course, Alaska came out on top because no one lives there. (That’s not factual. People do live there. Just, you know, not regular corruptible Americans and we should burn the state with flames of justice.)
The study graded things like public access to information, ethics enforcement agencies, and electoral oversight (in all, there were 13 areas scrutinized) in order to create an overall assessment of a state’s level of corruption. Out of the 50 states, Alaska scored the highest with a C-minus. A C-minus. If you took a test in University where no one scored over a C-minus, your teacher or teacher’s supervisor would take a hard look at how your class was being prepared, and would likely throw the test out the window. Only three states, in fact, scored a C, and they were the winners of the study. (California and Connecticut were the other two.)
So, who did the worst? That would be the beacon of sunshine known as Michigan. Michigan ranked 50th in four areas, and failed all of the criteria except three. Wyoming was not far behind, ranking 49th, and succeeding Michigan by one point. Eleven states in all failed the integrity study, proving that the good ol’ U.S. of A. likes its money, and likes hiding the hand in which it’s placed. Not included in the study’s criteria was the amount of fist pumps per fiscal year, which would have given New Jersey an incredible boost in the rankings.
