American Institutional Decline Is Driven by Bipartisan Public Corruption and Self-Dealing
Source: Chris Bray. "America Is Becoming An Empire Of Fraud and Crony Grifting." August 26, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author argues that America's institutions are falling apart and the country is going deeper into debt because government officials—Republicans and Democrats alike—are shamelessly using public money for personal luxury, travel, and to fund pet projects and friends. He backs this up with specific scandals in Kentucky and California involving lavish spending, secret affairs funded by campaign cash, and a lawmaker funneling millions to a nonprofit he created himself.
Conclusion
American institutions are declining and the country is spiraling into debt and financial instability because public officials across the political spectrum are engaged in widespread, shameless fraud, self-enrichment, and crony grifting with taxpayer money.
Premises
- Kentucky school district officials racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal expenses (hotels, first-class travel, an Australia trip) on public credit cards while the district claimed it was running out of money.
- The superintendent implicated in this spending retaliated against internal critics rather than addressing the misconduct.
- California Republican legislative leadership supported Democrat tax increases they didn't need to support, and the leader responsible was later revealed to have misused campaign funds on personal matters including an affair and bar tabs.
- California's Insurance Commissioner, who lacked relevant background for his role, took at least 32 foreign trips to 23 countries over 163 days of state time, and dismissed accountability concerns as personally hurtful rather than addressing them substantively.
- A California legislator voted to direct millions of taxpayer dollars to a nonprofit he personally founded, which he continues to be closely tied to, despite the organization providing questionable value (e.g., Zoom calls about racism).
- These examples span both political parties and multiple states/institutions (school districts, state legislatures, executive agencies), suggesting a systemic rather than isolated pattern.
Assumptions
- The examples cited (Kentucky, California) are representative of a broader national pattern rather than isolated incidents.
- Financial instability and institutional decline are causally linked to this kind of official misconduct, rather than being driven primarily by other structural, economic, or policy factors.
- The absence of visible shame or accountability among officials is itself evidence of a systemic cultural rot rather than just poor enforcement in specific cases.
- Government-funded NGOs are inherently suspect and their funding arrangements with legislators constitute corruption rather than potentially legitimate (if questionable) policy choices.
- Readers will accept anecdotal, geographically limited examples as sufficient evidence for a sweeping claim about the entire country's institutional trajectory.