We seem pretty close on the issues but I am more (or is that less?) skeptical about the corrupting influence of money. There is a ton of evidence that people's beliefs are malleable and that money is just the thing to malleate them. No doubt our massaged beliefs are just as sincere as their predecessors; we're terrible judges of ourselves.

It's a bit tangential but Dan Ariely had a brilliant post the other day about how, in conflict-of-interest situations, disclosure not only isn't a solution but actually makes the problem worse. Outsiders have little idea how to interpret what's being disclosed, and insiders feel that they've fulfilled their entire duty by disclosing and proceed to do as they please.