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Anyone who believes in the essential role government can play in improving people's lives must also be the toughest critics of those who abuse the public trust.

It would be wonderful if the public sector were always great, or always terrible; or if the private sector were always great, or always terrible. Alas, reality is more complicated than comforting caricatures. Governments fail, and corporations fail.

Government has a habit of blaming the private sector for its own failings while taking credit for advances we in fact owe to the private sector.

When scrutiny is lacking, tyranny, corruption and man's baser qualities have a better chance of entering into the public business of any government.

Somehow, failures in the public sector are always judged as systematic. The private sector thus exists to ride to the rescue - and their failures are only judged anomalies. A pretty nice arrangement for investors. The only people who suffer are the citizens.

Corruption is something you face all the time. Avoid it.

We can only restore faith in government if the state itself becomes an efficient, effective and transparent ally of the people. Bureaucratic inefficiencies, abuses of power and the misappropriation of public funds must end.

Public office is supposed to be a public trust. This is a clear sign of the rampant corruption at the highest levels of the Republican leadership.

There can be no faith in government if our highest offices are excused from scrutiny - they should be setting the example of transparency.

Public trust in both government and corporations is low, and deservedly so.