All too often conservatives accuse those of us who favor a strong role by government of enabling waste and abuse by bureaucrats. Given the record of our private sector in recent years, it is clear that inefficiency is by no means limited to government but we do have a responsibility to make sure tax dollars are being used wisely. I can think of two Democratic leaders from the past who point the way to how Democrats can support activist and efficient government.
The late Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois, a traditional New Deal Democrat, often admonished his colleagues that "to be a liberal, one does not have to be a wastrel. We must, in fact, be thrifty if we are to be really humane." Democrats need to be leading efforts to make government work effectively to provide services and enforce regulations to protect workers and consumers. During his long Senate career, the late Senator William Proxmire was a strong believer in activist government and yet a zealous opponent of bureaucratic waste. Proxmire introduced the "Golden Fleece" awards, which exposed wasteful practices in government. Proxmire noted that "highlighting specific, single wasteful expenditures is more effective than simply complaining in a general way about government waste."
Along the same lines, Dustin Ensinger at Economy in Crisis stresses the importance of accountability for the billions of dollars in economic stimulus spending.
Obama's Early Wish List: $500 billion
Published 12/12/08 Dustin Ensinger
Economy in Crisis www.economyincrisis.org
One of the things on President-elect Barack Obama's early wish list
in the first few days of his administration is a huge stimulus
package, reportedly in the area of $500 billion to $1 trillion
dollars. According to Robert Puentes, a fellow with the Brookings
Institution's Metropolitan Policy Project, the money could be a
blessing or a curse, depending on how much oversight is in place to
ensure that the money is being spent properly.
Obama's stimulus package would provide the perfect opportunity for
Obama to implement one of his campaign promises: Google for
government. He has proposed creating a digital database that details
how each and every dollar of taxpayer money is being spent and this
huge infrastructure project provides ample opportunity to do so.
Because a large chunk of that money will be funneled to state and
local governments to be spent on infrastructure projects, there are
enormous opportunities for waste, fraud and abuse.
"It's the closest thing we have to a blank check," Puentes
said. "it's a fact-free zone."
While Puentes acknowledges that the money needs to be spent quickly
to put people to work, he also said there must be strict oversight
and accountability, otherwise it could be a giant waste of taxpayer
money.
"We should only spend quickly on the existing system," said
Puentes. "We shouldn't use this as an opportunity to build more
projects on the fringe" of cities.
According to Puentes, Obama should focus on repairing roads, bridges
and water and sewer systems, focusing on more long-term projects only
after comprehensive oversight is in place.
To ensure that taxpayer money is not simply wasted, the government
needs to create an independent panel to oversee how and where the
money is spent. In addition, there should be an unprecedented amount
of transparency to instill confidence in taxpayers that their money
is not being frivolously spent on pork projects.
Please write to President-Elect Obama and encourage him to implement
a digital database that details every cent of government spending, so
we can ensure our tax dollars are not spent in vain.
Source CNNMoney:
In just over a month, hundreds of billions of dollars of your money
could be funneling through the hands of every politician, from the
president to the mayor of the smallest American town, in a plan to
jumpstart the economy.
For maximum effect, experts say the cash should be doled out quickly.
The plan could be approved just days after President-elect Obama
takes office. Done right, it could create millions of jobs and
lubricate the economy. Done wrong, it presents innumerable
opportunities for waste and fraud.
http://www.economyincrisis.org/articles/show/2194
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