Transparency has become a common theme within our government for the last couple decades. President Regan signed into law the requirement for politicians to disclose campaign funds and who the contributors were. In politics, transparency is defined as holding public officials accountable by not withholding information. Since President Regan this has been the furthest that transparency, of politicians, has gone until the election of President Obama. Transparency is now taking another direct by looking not only at contributions to campaigns but also funds that are given to politicians from special interest groups. Some suggest that there is problems that would occur by posting such information. The questions that could arise are, did the politician vote for or against a bill for the money or by conscience? Would the information be twisted by components to gather public opinion? Would the data be so large that the public would not take notice? Is it worth the money to produce?
Transparency, or also known as naked transparency, is difficult and novel idea. Many factors come involved not by just giving information but also regulating the information. For example the Sunlight Foundation launched a campaign for all congress members to post their daily schedule on the Internet. If you think about this the first thought maybe that it is fine but security may become an issue. When a society comes up with ideas we must take time to make sure that we don’t move too fast. As I stated earlier transparency is a novel idea but implementation must be deliberately discussed and posted with clear and concise information to avoid misunderstanding and confusion.
Reference
Lessig, Lawrence. ” Against Transparency: The Perils of Openness In Government”, 2009, p38, 8p. (Retrieved from ESBCO Regis University, November 17, 2009)
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