> However, beginning in the 1990s, the number of corruption convictions there began to rapidly decline, so much so that by the beginning of the 2020s, Manhattan’s position relative to other areas had flipped. It now boasts the fewest corruption convictions of any major city area.

> "the highest construction costs in the world"

> "The estimated cost of the Long Island Rail Road project, known as “East Side Access,” has ballooned to $12 billion, or nearly $3.5 billion for each new mile of track — seven times the average elsewhere in the world. The recently completed Second Avenue subway on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and the 2015 extension of the No. 7 line to Hudson Yards also cost far above average, at $2.5 billion and $1.5 billion per mile, respectively."

> For years, The Times found, public officials have stood by as a small group of politically connected labor unions, construction companies and consulting firms have amassed large profits.

> Trade unions, which have closely aligned themselves with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and other politicians, have secured deals requiring underground construction work to be staffed by as many as four times more laborers than elsewhere in the world, documents show.

> Construction companies, which have given millions of dollars in campaign donations in recent years, have increased their projected costs by up to 50 percent when bidding for work from the M.T.A., contractors say.

> Public officials, mired in bureaucracy, have not acted to curb the costs. The M.T.A. has not adopted best practices nor worked to increase competition in contracting, and it almost never punishes vendors for spending too much or taking too long, according to inspector general reports.

etc. Also, this is based on extensive research:'

> The Times brought the list to more than 50 contractors, many of whom had worked in New York as well as in other cities. The Times also interviewed nearly 100 current and former M.T.A. employees, reviewed internal project records, consulted industry price indexes and built a database to compare spending on specific items. And The Times observed construction on site in Paris, which is building a project similar to the Second Avenue subway at one-sixth the cost.

Low-level is when you bribe individual cops, city clerks, etc so they let you go instead of writing a speeding ticket or approving your house building plan.

High-level is when people like Merz receive a political donation from McDonalds, do some self-promotion in one, and then keep/lower the Mwst (VAT) for restaurants.

Germany unfortunately has high-level corruption but as far as I know, very little low-level. I think thats partially why people don't care to vote to differently. Yes, it happens, but there is a large disconnect between what Merz does and how it impacts an individuals bottom line.

If people would have to constantly hand out bribes to anyone then maybe its a different story.