Thoughts on budget transparency * 1 comment
I have been reading about the idea of having a budget transparency website where citizens can get information easily. Apparently, there are 23 states using this system and wonder what your thoughts are on the pros and cons of this.
Thanks, Nina, for raising this issue.
I feel strongly that budget transparency is all good — there are no cons, only pros. It makes it easier for people understand what government is doing and that’s an important part of restoring confidence in government. It also probably encourages smarter budgeting by making it all visible.
I think the Patrick Administration has been doing an excellent job of improving budget website transparency. See http://www.mass.gov/budget. We can and should continue to do better at this. For example, I’ve co-sponsored legislation to increase transparency related to tax expenditures. See House 333 on the cosponsored bills list under the “Legislation” subject on this website.
Thanks for speaking out!