Summary
Amid the dark fiscal news, one ray of hope coming from the budget fiasco was the governor's executive order to put government contracts online and make them searchable by the public. Budget transparency, while not a new idea, can be revolutionary. Public oversight of the state's purse is a cornerstone of democratic government and provides an added incentive for those in government to spend tax dollars as efficiently as possible. Transparency is an important part of any real budget reform.
California should be on the leading edge of the nation's movement toward making budgets transparent. But despite California's "high-tech" reputation, nearly two dozen other states beat us to the punch. In the past few years, at least 23 states already have mandated that citizens be able to access a searchable online database of government expenditures. These states have come to define what some call "Google Government," anew standard of comprehensive, one-stop, one-click budget accountability and accessibility. State governments are putting their checkbooks and IOUs online in a format that puts information in reach and in context the way that we've come to expect outside government.The disconnect in recent polls between taxpayers' support for public services and structures, and Californians' unwillingness to pay for them, points to a need for greater budget transparency. If the governor can finish what he started, California's Google Government will be a vital tool to bring some sunlight to the gray days ahead.See the full content of this document
Extract
A Window Into State Spending
Readers of this column may do a double take to see CALPIRG and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association advocating an identical position. But when it comes to government transparency, we are surely reading off the same sheet of music...
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