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Diplomatic Parking Law Offenders Not Fans of Uncle Sam
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ShareJuly 11, 2006 9:37 AM
Diplomats from countries where high proportions of people hate the United States are more likely to break New York City parking laws, according to a new report, "Cultures of Corruption: Evidence from Diplomatic Parking Tickets."
The study cites officials from both Egypt and Pakistan as top parking offenders. According to the Pew Global Attitudes Survey, the anti-American sentiment in both countries runs high. The study's main focus, however, was on the correlation between corruption in a diplomat's home country to parking violations.
"We found that diplomats from high corruption countries have significantly more parking violations, and these differences persist over time," said Raymond Fisman, Columbia University Business School Professor and co-author of the study, which links unpaid fines to corruption.
Kuwait, Egypt, Chad, Sudan, Bulgaria, Mozambique and Nigeria top the 146-country list of unpaid violations from 1997 to 2002, according to the report.
Parking fines in the Big Apple provided the authors an ideal research lab because diplomatic immunity meant there was essentially zero legal enforcement, which allowed them to examine the role of cultural norms alone.
The study notes that offenses dropped once New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg cracked down in 2002 and started towing delinquent vehicles regardless of their diplomatic licenses. However, post-enforcement violations were still correlated with country-level corruption, said Fisman.
So which countries paid their dues?
Squeaky clean Norway, Japan, Sweden and Turkey averaged zero unpaid tickets per diplomat, according to the study, along with Great Britain, Panama and Canada.
July 11, 2006 | Permalink | User Comments (9)
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I thought we were "pals" with Egypt and Pakistan. Apparently image isn't important to these people (As they corrupt and impurify our way of life and we allow them to contribute to the sapping away of our economy for oil).
I'm left wondering if parking violations are just the tip of the iceberg. What about all the other vices, crimes, that people get caught up in, etc.
Motto: You don't have to like someone, but you better respect them and if you don't repect them you better have a good reason not too and expect problems. In other words I simply don't care if they like us, but its different when they aren't respecting us, by flaunting our laws as this report would imply. Tow them. Hey, lets arrest them. Better yet, diplomatic immunity, thing of the past!!
Indeed, parking tickets, no big deal; I want to know about the big crime that they are getting away with... Where there's smoke there's fire.
Posted by: solarsails | Jul 11, 2006 11:32:42 AM
I recall reading in the Guardian of London that the US diplomats have a problem showing respect for the traffic laws of the UK. Could you compare how our diplomats behave in other countries?
Thanks
Posted by: Barbara Ransdell | Jul 11, 2006 12:20:53 PM
That's right, we're always worse than everybody else, aren't we? Give me a break. This crap has been going on with UN diplomats for eaons. Get rid of all of them. Let Geneva have the UN.
Posted by: Mark Buerger | Jul 11, 2006 2:15:46 PM
Kick them all out! If it was up to me I would tow their vehicles. Believe me if it was us breaking their laws they surely wouldn't hesitate to hold us accountable. Ask yourself, would you let someone in your house that hates you? Only in America!!!
Posted by: Eric | Jul 11, 2006 3:42:22 PM
I AGREE WITH MARK BUERGER. MOVE THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICES TO GENEVA
Posted by: ZIA MIAN | Jul 11, 2006 4:14:06 PM
Hello!!! You Xenophobes are missing the point....what distinguishes Pakistan and Egypt is that we spend $billions on them, and we know that a huge percentage of that aid - our tax funds -- go to line the pockets of their corrupt dictators and their generals.
That proves to these antiDemocratic elements that despite all of Bush's hypocritical rhetoric about bringing democracy to the Muslim world, we don't care at all. So they know our policies and our rhetoric doesn't apply to them. Neither do our parking laws.
Not surprising that our current administration is the most corrupt in US history. Hypocrisy is the secret language of corrupt leaders.
Posted by: Ed | Jul 12, 2006 12:56:38 AM
Ummm, don't the American diplomats refuse to pay the congestion charge in London? That's a traffic offense... Not to mention a slap on the face to Norway et al who actually do pay it.
Tsk tsk tsk.
Posted by: Claire | Jul 12, 2006 6:04:33 AM
Buerger; The US embassy in London has told its staff not to pay the daily "congestion charge" as they see it as a form of taxation, from which diplomats are exempt. In actual fact it is a toll, from which they are not exempt, but they still refuse to pay.
Eric; Interestingly, Islam states that you must welcome any man into your home as a brother and treat him as such, so no, not "only in America". In fact, "barely in America" - you have heard of Guantanamo, no?
Posted by: Gridlock | Jul 12, 2006 7:58:09 AM
Except Switzerland is not a member of the UN, nor do they want any part of it...sheesh!
Posted by: Swiss | Jul 12, 2006 10:27:26 AM
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