In case you missed it, here’s a snapshot of what is happening on the spending tranparency front:
While we’re still waiting for the Obama Administration to deliver on their transparency promises relating to the trillion dollar spending and debt package passed under the guise of "economic stimulus," the private sector is beating Recovery.gov to the punch. We’ve also been wondering just how soon "soon" is when it comes to "Sunlight Before Signing?"
With regard to TARP, taxpayers are still largely in the dark, and we’re curious to see what Sec. Geithner will have to say in this hearing next week.
Meanwhile, transparency at the state level is faring better:
The Florida State Senate and the Colorado House of Representatives passed spending transparency legislation this week, and the Jindal Administration in Louisiana announced several transparency upgrades, and an additional Rhode Island agency has begun posting its expenditures online.
A great help for lawmakers and activists pursuing transparency efforts at the state level is this new policy paper by the Mercatus Institute, which helps clear up the all-too-common misconceptions regarding the cost of spending transparency.
For more information, check out the Center for Fiscal Accountability’s website at www.fiscalaccountability.org. And if you’re interested in getting regular updates on spending transparency and other accountability issues right into your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.