Loyalty

• The first standard in the Code of Ethics for Government Service states that you should, "put loyalty to the highest moral principles and to country above loyalty to persons, party or Government department." The second standard states that you are to, "uphold the Constitution, laws, and regulations of the United States and of all governments therein and never be a party to their evasion." All other measures of ethical behavior in government service rests upon these first two standards.
  
  

Efficiency

• The third standard of the Code of Ethics states that you should, "give a full day's labor for a full day's pay; giving earnest effort and best thought to the performance of duties." The fourth standard addresses efficiency by saying that you should, "seek to find and employ more efficient and economical ways of getting tasks accomplished." These are important standards in light of the strong public sentiment that the federal government is a wasteful user of the money citizens pay in taxes.
  
  

Discrimination

• The fifth standard in the Code of Ethics deals with discrimination by saying that you should, "never discriminate unfairly by the dispensing of special favors or privileges to anyone, whether for remuneration or not; and never accept, for himself or herself or for family members, favors or benefits under circumstances which might be construed by reasonable persons as influencing the performance of governmental duties." People in government service are expected never to use public office for personal gain.
  
  

Private Promises

• The sixth standard in the Code of Ethics states that you should, "make no public promises of any kind binding upon the duties of office, since a Government employee has no private word which can be binding on public duty." The seventh standard just as importantly states, "engage in no business with the Government, either directly or indirectly, which is consistent wit the conscientious performance of governmental duties." These two standards directly address the issue of corruption and the giving of favors to political cronies.
  
  

Corruption

• The last three standards are short statements that build upon the expectation that you will stand against corruption. The eighth standard states, "never use any information gained confidentially in the performance of governmental duties as a means of making private profit." The ninth standard states, "expose corruption wherever discovered," and the tenth states, "uphold the principles, ever conscious that public office is a public trust." As a public servant, it is your duty to expose corruption in government at any level you come into contact with it.