The extent of corruption in Europe is "breathtaking"

An article published by BBC News on 2/3/14 discusses corruption in Europe.  I find the "shocked" tone of the article ironic.  European nations have expansive governments that control all aspects of social and economic interaction.  The fact is that whenever government is large and intrusive corruption will flourish.  You can read the article at this link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26014387#

This article is reporting on a study by the European Union to the European Parliament.  The entire study can be found at this link:

EU ANTI-CORRUPTION REPORT

The BBC News article contains the following paragraphs:

In some countries there was a relatively high number reporting personal experience of bribery.

In Croatia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania and Greece, between 6% and 29% of respondents said they had been asked for a bribe, or had been expected to pay one, in the past 12 months.

There were also high levels of bribery in Poland (15%), Slovakia (14%) and Hungary (13%), where the most prevalent instances were in healthcare.

The last sentence could be a prediction for the future direction of healthcare in the USA.  As more government intervention occurs in the healthcare industry we will be subjected to more corruption.