United States: 22 in corrupt Nations

That may seem the takeaway from this year's Corruption Perceptions Index from Berlin-based Transparency International, which saw the U.S. 2010 ranking slip to 22nd out of 178 nations from 19th last year -- the first time the United States has missed inclusion in the top 20 least-corrupt countries since the index was launched 15 years ago. http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2010/results
Rising past the U.S. over the year were the tiny Caribbean island nation of Barbados (now 17th), the Persian Gulf emirate Qatar (19th) and Chile (21st). New Zealand, Denmark and Singapore -- ranked Nos. 1, 2 and 3 last year -- tied for first place in 2010.