Government Transparency In The Real World

Is the Government run fair and transparent? There is an ongoing war going on between government watchdogs and government administrators. Government administrators have been accused of impeding open access to the marketplace. They are said to be cozy with business interests that could benefit from limited access to the marketplace.

Government watchdogs complain that administrative agencies are cutting corners in how they do business. The result is less government revenue. They say that the result is less public sector jobs and lower economic growth. Is all this really happening, or has government really gotten more efficient? There is a perception that the answer is yes. That’s because government is doing a lot more than it ever has in the past.

One example is in how it deals with Freedom of Information Act requests. A new law passed in the House and Senate requires agencies to turn over requested documents within a month. For government watchdogs this is a big deal because this gives you a way to check for incomplete, inaccurate or outdated information.

Another step towards transparency in government comes in the form of the Presidential Transparency Commission. Presidents George W. Bush and Obama have each signed an executive order establishing the commission. The commission is charged with studying the efficiency of government and delivering reports to the president and the American people on how government does its business. So far the commission has done very well fulfilling its goal of increasing government accountability.

You might ask, so why doesn’t government just run perfectly transparent operations? Well, it’s not as simple as that. First, the government is in politics so the party in control of government usually has some control over the workings of the legislature. Also, there are often conflicts of interest among governmental agencies and even among individuals within the government. This can prevent the government from being completely transparent.

If there is more transparency in government, there is also likely to be less corruption. Why would a government want to be seen as corrupt? If the government did not have any scandals, then it will not be able to perform its duties to the people. And we all know that in the United States a scandal is bigger than a hill with no slope. So, in short, if the government is doing everything right, it will always be seen as the most transparent one out there.