Well, there are no consequences are there? Or at least no precident of consequences of such behaviour. My hope is that folks like this always lose out in the long run but I'm not so sure anymore...
The highest jobs require these days a proven track-record of corruption. You can‘t blame young startups wanting to take the first step on that ladder. At the end of the day we are living in a merdeitocracy.
I'm seeing it too. I think it's not about rewards, but punishments. A lot of people have (or perceive that they have) a lot less to lose in this economy.