| Let 'Google Government' bloom |
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| Written by Fred Hansen | |
| Monday, 29 October 2007 | |
This brilliant idea
has just entered the US presidential race. Several candidates, among
them Democrat Senator Barack Obama and Republican Congressman Ron Paul
have embraced the concept of 'Google Government' and signed the Oath of
Presidential Transparency which will help taxpayers to track their tax
money through the maze of government.By signing the oath, the candidates are promising, should they win the 2008 presidency, that they will issue an executive order instructing the entire executive branch to put into practice the Federal Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. That Act includes a Google-like search tool that will allow taxpayers to go online and see exactly how their tax dollars are being spent on federal contracts, grants and earmarks.That would, of course, be just the beginning. From there virtually anybody could make a difference. After all, this new tool would enable every citizen to hold politicians accountable on their spending. In the US, state and local governments are being pushed to adopt model legislation to implement versions of the 2006 Federal Act. But that's not all. The American Legislative Exchange Council has also promoted a model bill to require that the public have at least 72 hours to review tax and spending bills before they are voted on. That would be a fantastic development. Let’s copy that and let hundreds of regional implementations of 'google government' bloom. In any upcoming European elections candidates should be hard-pressed to emulate the Oath of Transparency.
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