I have another axiom I will dub "third-worldify". Take this story and replace United States with a "third world" country such as Turkmenistan or North Korea.
Now, if instead it was, [Zambia] does so and so, is it believable?
So therein you find your fallacy of exceptionalist presumption. If you think that, say, the Pakistani government could execute this, then I assure you the United States can.
There's no magic change in the greed of power from one land to another.
Sure, the "super-good" at hiding it == They make sure it's not right up in your face & you can't feel it in your day-to-day life; especially sure not to let the non-minorities or affluent feel it. My family and wife are from Nigeria. I've enjoyed going to the movies & the beach & to eat out at restaurants. However I've also been to some of the rougher parts and watched, from a taxi, my dad argue over bribes with 2 police(or military) men holding machine guns. In USA, as long as the corruption is mostly impacting the poor and/or minorities it's not a problem. In fact, I'd love to know the economic & demographic breakdown of responses to the perceived corruption and the questions from that website. It'd help me to know if I'm right or completely off base in my assumptions.
I've lived in quite a few places with extremely high corruption and to be honest I don't know what I prefer, probably on the one hand it feels comfortable to have the corruption hidden behind a layer of veneer, on the other to have it out in the open at least allows you to discuss the problem with others without coming across as paranoid.
Now, if instead it was, [Zambia] does so and so, is it believable?
So therein you find your fallacy of exceptionalist presumption. If you think that, say, the Pakistani government could execute this, then I assure you the United States can.
There's no magic change in the greed of power from one land to another.