Due to the recent bail-outs and the blatant mismanagement of funds occurring in the private sector as well as the public sector, the idea of government transparency has recently received a great deal of attention. New organizations and websites have been created purely to provide information regarding our government's bottom line.
Citizens have started blogs to track spending not only in Washington, D.C. but in Lansing and other state capitals around the nation. What's clear is that the potential for open and obvious government has never been so ripe. It's an insult that government does not provide this information in an affordable, easy-to-use manner.
In an effort to push back the curtain on at least part of the Michigan House of Representatives, I have published on my online office the budget allotment for my office as well as my staff's salaries. According to the Michigan House of Representatives Financial and Business office, I am the very first lawmaker in Lansing to post such information on-line. I hope others will follow.
Why is this important you might ask? Well, let me tell you. Last year, after it became certain the Legislature wasn’t going to return the $352 million in excess tax dollars the state over-collected in 2007, talks quickly turned to spending the surplus on such things as $14 million to the Detroit Zoo, the Detroit Institute of the Arts and the Detroit Historical Society.
Perhaps public disclosure of the state’s spending habits will help guide some accountability and transparency in government. If nothing else, it will provide an avenue for taxpayers to find out how government is spending their money. Is that really too much to ask?
It's no secret that Michigan is in terrible economic shape however it does seem that our executive branch would like to keep the secret of state spending. Recently, I asked the Governor to create an easy-to-use Web site where people can see exactly how their taxpayer dollars are being spent.
The Governor's administration claims the cost of creating a Web site is exorbitant. However states like Oklahoma built a Web site for as little as $8,000 in software plus staff time and it took me less than two clicks of a mouse to post my expenses on-line. I find it hard to believe that our state cannot afford a system similar to Oklahoma's when the benefits of such a system would only equal more effective spending.
In a time where every penny counts, it is no longer acceptable to make it difficult for citizens to see where their money is going. I hope you will take the opportunity to access my office's financial information by visiting www.gophouse.com/elsenheimer.htm and clicking on the Government Transparency link.
