I Agree with a Conservative!

David Adams is "Kentucky Votes Director and Bluegrass Policy Blog lead blogger." In other words, he's one of the chief cooks and bottle washers at the Bluegrass Institute, the conservative/libertarian/we-love-business-and-hate-liberals think tank in Bowling Green. Not someone I normally would have much in common with, right?

I ran across David on the Front Page blog, where he is an occasional commenter. We then hooked up through Facebook (yes, I'm on Facebook -- deal with it), and have traded statuses and comments for a while.

Lo and behold, I read a comment of his on a public policy question, and actually AGREED with him! I was so shocked that I told him I'd blog about it. And HE was so shocked he said he would actually read it! So, David, this blog's for you.

The issue is government transparency, especially when it comes to spending. David and the BGI are pushing for state and local governments to post their spending on the internet for all to view and peruse.

For this progressive, such a concept only makes sense. After all, if our priorities are shown by our spending, what better way to see what we really value? And, what better way to fight corruption than to put the sweetheart deals right out where everyone can see them? And, finally, what better way to spend our money wisely than to make it plain that every spending decision will be seen, and analyzed, and scrutinized?

I'm a progressive, but I'm also a realist. I know that anytime you turn on a spiget of money, the big dogs are going to push the little and weak dogs out of the way to gulp down all they can. I want government spending to be (a) effective and (b) targeted. If we're running a program to help impoverished schools, the money needs to get to the schools, not to a consulting firm in Chicago for telling us how to spend it.

There's much more to say on this topic -- including the need for economic forecasters to show us how they come up with their models -- but for now let me close by saying that on this topic, I think we can all agree. Even me and a conservative like David Adams.

Comments

[David Adams]

Thanks Bruce. The great thing about spending transparency is that it serves the interests of those on the political left and right while only "hurting" the corrupt.