Fewer than one in 10 Americans believe their government in Washington, D.C., is “open and honest” about how it spends their tax dollars. That’s perhaps the most disturbing result of the Association of Government Accountants’ recent survey, “Public Attitudes to Government Accountability and Transparency 2008.” The survey asked 1,652 adults their views on the federal government’s financial management, accessibility and accountability to taxpayers. The results offer a vivid portrait of a yawning credibility gap:
» Three out of four respondents say it is extremely or very important to them that they get financial management information from the federal government, but only 5 percent say they are satisfied with the official information they receive now.
» Three out of four of those surveyed say it is extremely or quite important to them that the government be truthful about its spending, but only 5 percent think they get the truth from official reports and statements,
» Three out of four of those surveyed say they want more financial management information and will use it to decide how they will vote.
» A fourth, or 23 percent, of those surveyed cited “excessive amounts of unrestrained spending” as their top concern on federal financial management, and 14 percent cited earmarks and other forms of pork barrel spending.
The survey will be repeated annually, according to the AGA. It was conducted only a few months after the U.S. Office of Management and Budget began posting massive amounts of data about federal spending on the Internet at USAS pending.gov. That’s the Google-like searchable database mandated by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. Interestingly, only 10 percent of the respondents said putting government spending data on the Internet would increase official accountability. Our prediction is that percentage will steadily rise in the years ahead as public awareness, understanding and use of the database grows.
The presidential candidates would do well to pay attention to the AGA survey results. Sen. John McCain, the almost-certain Republican nominee, has a long and distinguished record of voting against wasteful federal spending. He promises to veto any spending bill sent to him by Congress that contains earmarks. And he has made clear his intention to confront head-on the issue of entitlement spending reform, something neither party’s leaders have been willing to do in recent years.
People don’t believe the government tells the truth about its spending and they want genuine change, so this ought to be a strong point for McCain. Except for this: Sen. Barack Obama, the likely Democratic nominee, co-sponsored the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, though, strangely, he rarely mentions it while campaigning. How refreshing it would be to have two nominees vying to be the most committed to federal spending reform and transparency.
