Spotlight on Sunshine … North Dakota
May 20, 2008
I was cruising the net and ran across this impressive transparency website designed by the North Dakota Policy Council. It lays out the education spending for each school district in North Dakota in simple to understand graphs and language.
The website also allows anyone to compare school districts against each other in order to find the most efficient school district in the state.
Every education and limited government activist should have access to this type of information in their state.
To visit the North Dakota Policy Council’s Sunshine on School’s website click here.
Chicago Corruption Exposed
May 20, 2008
I ran across this blog post this morning. It appears that it is business as usual in Chicago. I am thankful that the media is beginning to shine some light on corruption in Chicago City Government.
Chicago Officals Caught with Hand in Cookie Jar …. Again
I was shocked last night as I watched the local Chicago Fox News 10:00 PM news broadcast of a story of the continued abuse by elected officials in Chicago, Il. Fox News should be praised for having a reporter take the time to go through the mountain of misc. expenses of Chicago’s Aldermen and uncover the “questionable” expenses.
The highlights were $1500 for lawn care for one Alderman to the company of one of her poltical supporters; the paying of one Alderman’s subscription to the magazine of the Communist Party of the United States; and the hiring of of a magician for an event for the Alderman.
The news report points out that many of these expenses were paid without question.
If you would like to view the news report please click here.
The taxpayers of Chicago deserve better.
Stay tuned as the reporter promised to reveal the political expenses of Aldermen that were paid for with your tax dollars. I will bring you his report as soon as it is aired.
This was cross posted from - http://catch22.blogivists.com/
Some good stuff late tonight…
May 19, 2008
...from The Piper on Crosscut. A bunch of libs, but they do some of the best true journalism in the neighborhood anymore. On my must-read list. This tacky state of affairs isn't Tim Eyman's fault, though his status as convenient whipping boy once again goes unchallenged. Money, time, and human resources have been wasted for a long time without necessary legislative oversight. Ain't that the truth! And the boats don't run on time. And the legislative guru's say they don't get it. Which reminded me of my post yesterday.Union Allows ‘Stalker’ to Represent Them
May 19, 2008
Amazingly, the International Union of Security, Police and Fire Professionals doesn’t see a problem with allowing a man accused of stalking his girlfriend and has compared employers to terrorists to act as an official organizer in Nevada at the MGM Mirage. It does not speak well of the union to work with such a [...]Oklahoma Transparency Kudos
May 19, 2008
I have been browsing around state websites today to identify some shining examples of government transparency. One of the best is Oklahoma’s OpenBooks site, which details state spending in more ways than you can rope a cow. (Okay, I have no idea about cow roping, but I do know they have a Grade-A transparency website.)
The site details state appropriations, spending restrictions, details about the education lottery and rainy day fund, and even information on the Oklahoma budget process.
The only controversial portion seems to be the “Where does the state’s money come from?” section. It includes this chart: (click to enlarge)
One might argue that you could decode the chart categories by saying…
- “taxes and interest” = taxes
- “license/permit/tuition/fees” = taxes
- “federal grants” = redistributed taxes
- “assets held for others” = unclaimed property
Therefore, I think the page would be much more honest if there was a tagline to the chart that stated “OK government is 100% Taxpayer Funded.”
That issue aside, OpenBooks is a great example of how transparent government should be.
Homework: Ask your elected officials to match Oklahoma’s lust for spending disclosure. (If you’re from Oklahoma, see if you can get that tagline added for me.)
Did he really say that?
May 19, 2008
According to The News Tribune, a spokesperson for the Washington Education Association justified nixing $13.2 million in privately-funded math and science grants for seven Washington high schools this way: I don't know any other profession or industry where an outside, private group is allowed to pay another employer's employees based on their behavior. Huh? The WEA is a private group, and its officials currently call all the shots about teacher pay. Furthermore, the WEA is not our teachers' employer. And surely the union spokesperson knows that many employees in other industries receive grants or incentives from sources other than their employers. Grants, for example, are commonplace in the professional world. Incentive pay for excellence is commonplace, too, because it works! But the most telling part of the whole sentence was the union spokesperson's inability to distinguish between behavior and performance. Unless our behavior adversely affects our performance, in almost all cases, we get paid for performance. Why would any sane person or organization be against paying teachers for performance and also paying them extra for outstanding performance?The King County COW Debate (Critics not invited)
May 19, 2008
Tonight at 6 p.m., King County Commissioners are staging a “debate” over taxpayer-funded elections, but critics are not invited. The Committee of the Whole (COW) will review the study staff released last week (the one we have been talking about for the past week) and listen to panel discussion on the topic. Panelists facing off during the debate will include Joaquin Ávila, a member of the task force studying taxpayer-funded campaigns, and Lois North, a former King County Councilmember who voted to adopt a similar program in the late 80’s. Curiously (or not), the debate lacks an opposing viewpoint. Bill Maurer of the Institute for Justice in Seattle offered to join the panel and provide some critiques, but Councilmember Bob Ferguson, the sponsor of the legislation, declined the opportunity for balance. Maurer, and other dissenters, will be relegated to offering two-minutes of public comments. This morning, IJ released a commentary on the King County proposal and wrote, “The dirty secret of taxpayer funded campaigns is that they are specifically designed to limit speech… The government controls the purse strings and decides when voters hear ‘enough.’ They coerce independent groups to limit their speech persuading others about their issues. And they create another layer of government bureaucracy regulating our ability to engage in political discourse.” If you can’t attend, King County TV will air the meeting live. Also, Click HERE to watch Councilmember’s Ferguson and Constantine tell you how much they want to hear from you at the debate (so long as you don’t disagree with them.).Double ballot trouble in Oregon
May 19, 2008
On Saturday The Oregonian reported there's a small problem in the upcoming presidential primary...or not so small. More than 33,000 Oregon voters will receive two primary ballots in the mail, and election officials are "hugely concerned." The snafu occurred because voters changed their party registration around the same time the ballots were mailed, leading to them getting a ballot for both their old and their new registration entry. Not to worry, though. Secretary of State Bill Bradbury says the signature verification process will prevent any double-voting. But if Oregon's procedure is anything like Washington's, the Obama and Clinton camps might have cause for worry. During a 2005 special election King County accidentally sent double ballots to 3,500 voters, knew about it, but still counted both ballots for some voters. Signature verification is good, but it's not a cure-all.Hey Mayor Nagin, secrets don’t make friends
May 19, 2008
With the approach of the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the Times-Picayune’s Sunday editorial offers some timely advice for New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin in rebuilding the city.
No matter how weary he may be, no matter how difficult the work may be, Mayor Nagin promised voters in 2006 that he could lead the city through disaster. Residents, many of whom have taken on responsibilities that rightfully belong to city government, are hungry for signs of leadership.
The mayor owes them his best. He owes them a government that is efficient and responsive. He also owes them a government that is transparent. Instead, Mayor Nagin and his staff have a tendency to be secretive.
That must change. Withholding crucial information from the public is disrespectful, breeds distrust among residents and works against recovery.
The Times-Picayne suggests the following items for Mayor Nagin’s “To Do” list:
Increase public safety by hiring, training, and vetting more police officers Improve the city’s plans for redeveloping abandoned houses and demolishing blighted buildings Ensure code enforcement Get major recovery projects under way and put to use $411 million in grant money from the Louisiana Recovery Authority
Transparency with Tax Dollars: Git R Done!
EFF’s model legislation sweeping the states
May 19, 2008
EFF President Bob Williams and yours truly just returned from the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) Spring Task Force Summit (that’s a mouthful). ALEC is a non-partisan organization that brings together state lawmakers and business leaders to help states develop policies that protect taxpayers, grow jobs, and give consumers new choices. So far, 10 states have adopted ALEC model legislation prepared by EFF in January 2007. Last year, Bob spoke at three ALEC meetings on budget transparency and ALEC subsequently adopted our model legislation at their annual meeting in July. Lawmakers carried the budget transparency legislation home and passed various versions in at least 10 states.-
Exposing It
