Speaking of corruption and cronyism, as I was just yesterday, just be glad we’re not Sri Lanka, where the four Rajapaksa brothers have dominated the government and apparently driven the country into economic catastrophe. As the Washington Post reported:

After helping Mahinda win the presidency in 2005, his brothers Chamal, Gotabaya and Basil took over ministries that controlled three-quarters of the national budget and built popular support despite allegations of human rights abuses and corruption.…

The Rajapaksas ran the country like a family business during Mahinda’s 10-year presidency, starting in 2005. He named Gotabaya defense secretary while Basil and their oldest brother, Chamal, were placed in charge of irrigation and economic development. Sri Lanka enjoyed years of growth, fueled by a mountain of foreign debt.

Eventually the country soured on Mahinda and elected a new president, but four years later brother Gotabaya became president and named Mahinda prime minister. And aside from all the corruption, the real devastating blow to the country’s economy may have been this: “Gotabaya personally pushed through a ban on chemical fertilizers that hurt crop yields, just as global food prices soared.” At least that’s what Bjorn Lomborg and the New York Times say.

Cato Adjunct Scholar Razeen Sally, a Sri Lankan native now teaching at the National University of Singapore, summed up Sri Lankan governance for the Post:

You cannot win [in politics] if you’re not from an established family. So the system is left to established insiders who can pillage the state.