Finally—a trend that works for us taxpayers instead of against us!
Government is giving us a close, careful and woefully overdue look at what happens with our tax dollars.
No kidding.
The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 set up a free, publicly searchable website (www.usaspending.gov). On it the taxpayer can find all federal grants and contracts, as well as data on most payments of more than $25,000.
Intentionally or not, by unanimously passing such unconventional legislation Congress kicked off a national movement—in the right direction, for a change.
Kansas the following year enacted comprehensive legislation setting up a similar website for state spending. The next state to do so was Missouri. Oklahoma and Texas quickly followed suit.
All told, 12 states now have their own where-your-money-goes websites. Two more may start up before year’s end.
And that’s not counting the five states whose governors used their executive authority to begin transparency programs, or the additional six where comptrollers or treasurers got the ball rolling.
What can a taxpayer do with these sites? Plenty.
Texas, for instance, gives visitors to its site http://window.state.tx.us/comptrol/expendlist/cashdrill.php the options of “state agency search,” “vendor search,” “spending category search,” and “purchases code.”
“For the highest level of detail,” the site advises, “go to the Purchasing Code search, which indicates small dollar purchases by the state’s largest state agencies—down to the pencils.” Now that’s detail!
If you don’t think this movement has legs, consider who authored the original federal legislation—Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, a Republican, and an Illinois Democrat of whom you may have heard, Barack Obama.
Consider further that Americans for Tax Reform, headed by the tireless Grover Norquist, already is tracking, publicizing and encouraging the movement. As are policy organizations like the Texas Public Policy Foundation, whose website links directly to the state site.
Let’s get one thing clear: To know how your government spends money isn’t the same thing as ensuring all this money gets spent wisely and well. For that we still need a citizenry of budget curmudgeons.
But knowledge, nevertheless, is power—and it helps voters see through all the political bluster of spendaholics who claim to be fiscally prudent.
Taxpayers have a bit more of both now, thanks to the transparency movement.