Examiner adds on Government’s Spending Credibility Gap

Mark Tapscott’s editorial today in the Examiner looks at a different aspect of “Uncle Sam’s Credibility Gap On Spending” than I did yesterday, “Only 5% of Americans Trust Government Spending Reporting” in an Association of Government Accountants survey of Americans.

Tapscott adds that he hopes more Americans learn to use the extensive databases of spending that have come online recently, partly due to Tapscott’s leadership on transparency in government, despite that at present:

[O]nly 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.

Tapscott, also, points out that John McCain is a spending hawk, and that Barack Obama “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.”

Obama’s constituency of feeders at the government trough probably wouldn’t be as happy with him as we would be if Obama stressed the runaway spending in Washington.