Boss
Take a Memo:
I would argue simple, less convoluted laws and government transparency play a more significant role than the size of the government budget. If I were to assign a weight ( intuitively ) to the factors that play into corruption I would put them like this ( 1 = less important , 10 = more important ) :
simple laws: 5
governance (rule of law) : 9
revolving door : 8
budget size : 3
transparency : 3
To advance in our discussion I would ask you to ponder these factors and asign a weight on them ( you may add other factors that you consider important ).
I don't understand the purpose of this exercise we're doing. To limit corruption you simply punish it more vigorously. Nothing else will ever work better. To end the unethical exploitation of federal regulations by corporatists (not corruption), you limit the number of exploitable opportunities and amount of power that can be exploited.