Follow the Money

There's an implied covenant between citizens and their governments. Citizens will pay taxes. Governments will spend the tax money wisely for the benefit of their citizens. Even a cursory review of the special interest amendments in U.S. laws suggests that the U.S. Government isn't holding up its part in the covenant.

No One Knows

Nobody outside of Government knows how the taxes, fees, assessments, etc are actually spent and how much money is misspent. Any arrangement where the receivers of money are not accountable to the suppliers of that money encourages graft, embezzlement, misspending and malfeasance. Also, it encourages the public to distrust Government. From the Libertarians who want to end all taxes to the home owner who regularly rejects bond issues, the failure of Government to be fiscally accountable is impairing the ability of Government to adequately finance needed services.

Gas Taxes for Social Welfare

The California eleven cents per gallon gas tax apparently is spent on social welfare programs and not highway maintenance. Upon taking office, California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger repealed the threefold increase in vehicle registration taxes. The press reported that repealing the tax increase would cut revenues to California social welfare programs by $4 billion. Most citizens would assume that taxes related to transportation would be spent on transportation related services. Don't get me wrong. I might well support all the social welfare programs being funded by vehicle related taxes. However, I strongly believe that voters should have the right to vote on the social welfare programs and not have them hiding behind my pickup truck taxes.

A Simple Solution

The solution to this disclosure issue is simple. Require that all Government agencies that directly or indirectly receive tax money in any form post their books on an easily accessible website. The books to be updated weekly. The accounting systems to be either Quicken or M.Y.O.B or another standard bookkeeping software. Require that the books go back seven years. The income must be shown as to amount and source. The disbursements must be shown as to amount, payee and purpose.

There should be a financial incentive for accountants, bookkeepers and others to hunt for the pork in these budgets. If you paid a 10% reward, the standard used by insurance companies to encourage people to review government books for graft, embezzlement, misspending and malfeasance, you would see it cut by 90%. If one believes the folks who suspect most tax money is misspent, this would mean a massive reduction in taxes or a massive increase in desired public services. Anyone could quickly resolve the question if added taxes are needed for any Government agency to meet its goals.

Non Disclosure Issues

There are no valid issues against applying this full disclosure policy to local and state agencies. There would be a national security issue in applying the practice to the Federal Government. Clearly, intelligence agency budgets shouldn't be subject to this law. Some parts of the U.S. Defense Budget should be exempt. Classified research done by the Department of Energy and other Government agencies need not be part of the public disclosure requirement. There are no doubt other activities that most Americans would agree should be kept secret. However, the Government should allow an outside group of accountants and bookkeepers with security clearances to review the books of these agencies and insure that the secrecy reflects a public need and not a bureaucratic desire to hide graft, embezzlement, misspending and malfeasance.

International Disclosure

Expanding this Internet disclosure policy to foreign aid and UN funding would do more for good Government than sending the Marines to Baghdad. If Governments objected to telling American taxpayers how they were spending the taxpayers' money, we need only withdraw the taxpayer funding to resolve the National Sovereignty issue raised by the foreign Government. This policy should severely reduce the amount of taxpayer money going into Swiss bank accounts.

The Beginning of Credibility

Allowing the American taxpayer to follow their money as it moves through the Government bureaucratic system won't solve all the Government's financial problems and ills. It will increase Government credibility and accountability. It will give the public far more control over their Government. It's a start toward responsible Government in the 21st Century.

About the Author

He has been the Managing Director of Beowulf Investments [http://home.earthlink.net/~beowulfinvestments/">http://home.earthlink.net/~beowulfinvestments/] since 1981 and is the Executive Director of the Global Village Investment Club [http://home.earthlink.net/~beowulfinvestments/globalvillageinvestmentclubwelcome/">http://home.earthlink.net/~beowulfinvestments/globalvillageinvestmentclubwelcome/]
You can email Mr. Cate at: Beowulfinvestments@Earthlink.net

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