A great story my professor told today, after introducing the topic of corruption by explaining that other Arabs come to Lebanon to learn all about it:
There once was an old minister who retiring in a few weeks, and he set up a meeting with the man who is going to be the new minister at his house. His successor, a thirty year old man, arrives at his house and is shocked by the opulence. How, he asks, did you afford all of this on a government salary? The old minister points to a bridge in the distance connecting the airport to the city, you see that bridge? Yes, the younger man says. I built it and 18 percent of the cost is in my pocket, replies the minister. You know the road between Tripoli and Hasroun, 18 percent in my pocket. The old minister continues like this for a while, explaining to the younger man that a palace like his is not possible on a government salary.
A year later, the retired minister meets the current minister at his house and is shocked to see that it is three times as big as his, and after only a year in government service. He can't believe it, it took him decades to accumulate his house and cars, and after only a year the younger man has more than he ever did. Astounded, he asks the younger man how he did it. Well, says the younger man, you see the three new bridges connecting the airport and the city? No, the older man says, I don't. You've seen the new road connecting Beirut and Tyre? No, I haven't seen that either, replies the older man. Exactly, replies the younger minister, one hundred percent of the costs in my pocket.
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