Every time I think that cheating in the public sector cannot possibly get worse I get amazed.

Here is a report from the New York Times, that I find just unbelievable.
The basic story is that the Interior Department agency responsible for collecting oil and gas royalties has been caught up in a wide-ranging ethics scandal — including allegations of financial self-dealing, accepting gifts from energy companies, cocaine use, and sexual misconduct.

I am not going to summarize it but here are my 2 reflections:

1) Will Congress actually do something with these reports and take some action to correct the situation (I suspect not)?
2) Was it relatively easy for the Interior Department agency that collects oil and gas royalties to be dishonest given the general lack of morality in the oil and gas industry? In other words, does the lack of ethical behavior in the corporate world also transfer to the government branches that are dealing with these sectors? I suspect that the answer is “yes” and this is very troubling — since the government agencies that need to be more honest are the ones dealing with more corrupt industries.

Sadly yours

Dan