A new era of transparency

When those in positions of public trust operate in full view of the people they represent, we’re all better off. Transparency is the key to sound governance.

We’re entering a new era of transparency in South Carolina. The S.C. House of Representatives recently adopted a new policy that will require legislators to take more votes on the record, so the folks back home can know where their elected representatives stand on issues. And last year my office created a spending transparency Web site for state agencies, so anyone with Internet access can see how the state is spending their hard-earned tax dollars.

On Tuesday, Feb. 17, something else very special happened in Columbia: Thirty-one members of the House of Representatives filed a bill to make spending by local governments -- cities, towns, counties and school districts -- more transparent. Specifically, the House’s “online check register” legislation that I've backed will require local governments to put specific spending details on the Internet.

My office had already been working to persuade local governments to voluntarily put the details of their spending online, and we've even offered to include the information on our own Web site if necessary. I've been encouraged by the response we’ve received, and we expect the first local governments to begin posting their spending details on the Internet by this spring.

It’s worth noting that putting this information on the Internet isn't costly or difficult. When my staff and I established the statewide spending-transparency site, we did so without incurring additional cost and without hiring additional staff members.

But while many local governments I have met with indicate they intend to voluntarily comply, others are unwilling to give citizens such easy access to how their tax dollars are spent. They tend to view the money they spend as the government’s money, when they should be viewing it as the people’s money. I fear that for some governments it will take nothing short of a law to bring true transparency.

Special thanks to these 31 taxpayer heroes -- Mike Pitts and Jeff Duncan of Laurens County; Joe Daning and Tim Scott of Berkeley County; Seth Whipper and Speaker Bobby Harrell of Charleston; Nikki Haley, Kenny Bingham and Ted Pitts of Lexington; Derham Cole, Lanny Littlejohn and Joey Millwood of Spartanburg; Nathan Ballentine of Richland; Mark Willis, Bill Wylie, Dan Hamilton, Tommy Stringer, Garry Smith, Harry Cato and Eric Bedingfield of Greenville; Tom Young, Roland Smith and Jim Stewart of Aiken; Don Bowen, Michael Thompson and Mike Gambrell of Anderson; Bill Herbkersman of Beaufort; Jenny Horne and Annette Young of Dorchester; Herb Kirsh of York; and Robert Williams of Darlington – who are working to make local government transparency a matter of law. They join Senators Kevin Bryant of Anderson County, Larry Grooms of Berkeley and Dick Elliott of Horry, each of whom has proposed similar legislation in the Senate.

Enabling citizens to evaluate public spending from their home computers will help to make government officials more accountable and improve the quality of our government.

Transparency & accountability in 'stimulus' spending

By Richard Eckstrom
Comptroller General

In pushing his massive spending bill, the new president more than once reminded Congressional Republicans that it was he who won in November. And indeed, Barack Obama won decisively in the presidential election.

But the president should remember that the Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives were also elected by the people they represent. And those people expect that their only representative in the U.S. House will carefully consider the consequences of Obama’s colossal and unprecedented spending plan -- which no one is sure will work but everyone seems to agree will saddle future generations with enormous debt -- and cast an honest vote on the issue.

The “stimulus” debate was not our finest hour. Discourse suffered. One prominent conservative talk show host suggested he hopes the new president failed, while the new president kept talking about the fact that he “won” -- as if his winning the presidency meant the party out of power should abdicate their responsibility to impartially represent their constituents back home. Barack Obama admonished Republicans that “the time for action is now.”

Although there is certainly an urgency to stimulate the stalled economy, one can be forgiven for thinking lawmakers should carefully deliberate on a $1 trillion spending plan.

Regardless of which side of the “stimulus” debate you were on, we must hope it is successful. And for it to be successful, people must be assured the federal money is going to its intended purpose. There must be accountability and transparency.Our leaders are now charged with ensuring that all federal “stimulus” dollars are spent the way they are intended. For our part, the Comptroller General’s Office has developed a system to track the money every step of the way -- from Washington, DC to the state agencies and the cities, counties and school districts set to receive the money. Specifically, we're finalizing the details of a coding system to account for every single receipt and every single disbursement of Federal stimulus money that comes to our state.

Every dollar which is misspent is a dollar that is not putting a South Carolinian to work and stimulating our economy.

If this “stimulus” plan is to work, it must have the confidence of the people. We cannot repeat the mistakes of the massive financial bailout -- with its massive lack of transparency, followed by media reports of bailout funds being used for excessive corporate bonuses, lavish parties and injudicious spending. We must do better this time.

Founding Fathers knew best

Government is necessary. Big government is not. Like our Founding Fathers, many of us believe that the proper role of government is to do only those things that people cannot do for themselves.

Today many have come to consider government as a foe, rather than a friend. America’s government rose out of a glorious vision of freedom, opportunity and individual liberty. But it has increasingly become too unwieldy, unresponsive and unaccountable. Even so, too many people consider more government the cure for all that ails us. Many good, well-intentioned people go to the state capitol in Columbia or the national capitol in Washington D.C. and get tangled in the web of special-interest money, lobbyists and bureaucracies. America has strayed far from its founding ideals of government. The Founding Fathers would be deeply concerned.

Our founders envisioned a form of government of limited powers. As Thomas Jefferson said, “that government is best which governs least.” We honored that ideal for many generations.

Those seeking evidence that we’ve abandoned that ideal need look only at Congress’ massive spending, bailout and “stimulus” bills, which will expand government, empty our wallets and permanently shift resources from the private sector to the public sector.

Americans soon will observe Presidents’ Day, a holiday celebrating presidents past. Officially named “Washington’s Birthday,” the holiday originally marked the birth date of George Washington, and was later expanded to honor Abraham Lincoln as well. But perhaps this Presidents’ Day, we could use the occasion to honor the wisdom of all our Founding Fathers and their bold and revolutionary vision for America. We’re at a pivotal time in our nation’s history -- a time of economic crisis and monumental challenge. As we ponder our nation’s future, where we stand, where we need to go and how we get there, perhaps we’ll find new wisdom in those words by Thomas Jefferson, who believed government should limit itself to doing only those things we cannot do individually.

“Government exists to protect us from each other,“ Ronald Reagan once said. “Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.” As a young Republican volunteer in the early 80s, I remember well how Reagan revived our national spirit and transformed our government from one that was consuming our prosperity to one that got out of the way of folks who produce prosperity and create jobs. Reagan knew as our Founding Fathers did -- that government should get out of the way and let the most industrious, ingenious and enterprising people in the world build an ever-improving nation rich in freedom, opportunity and success.

It is our responsibility as citizens to insist that our elected leaders rein in all levels of government so that future generations will be blessed with the same opportunities to succeed that so many of us were blessed with. Unless we return to the original principles on which our nation was founded, that opportunity might not be there for future generations including our own children and grandchildren.

The Year of Reform in S.C.

Someone once asked Winston Churchill why he was such an optimist. “Because,” he replied, “it doesn’t do much good to be anything else.”

Like Churchill, I’m optimistic about our future here in South Carolina. In particular, I’m optimistic about the chances for real, meaningful government reform – changing the way we do things in Columbia to make our system of government more accountable, more transparent, and much more fiscally responsible.

While state leaders search for ways to move South Carolina forward, there’s not likely to be any expanded spending plans in the S.C. General Assembly. There’s no money for that. But what would benefit the state handsomely and not cost any money is government reform – saving money by streamlining functions and cutting waste, and restoring confidence by letting all citizens see how government spends their money.

There are several meaningful reform measures up for consideration this year:

- Comprehensive tort reform legislation by Sen. Larry Martin of Pickens County aims to reduce the cost of healthcare by cutting back frivolous lawsuits. Senator Martin and others also hope to eliminate the five-member Budget & Control Board, the massive agency that oversees much state spending, and replace it with a more responsive department controlled by the governor.

- State leaders including Senators Kevin Bryant of Anderson County, Dick Elliott of Horry County and Larry Grooms of Berkeley County have introduced legislation requiring local governments to post their spending details on the Internet. (My office is currently working with local governments to encourage them to voluntarily post spending details online, and we expect the first governments to soon begin doing so.)

- Unbeknownst to most people, state agencies can spend taxpayer money to hire lobbyists…whose job is lobbying the legislature for more taxpayer money. Reps. Jim Merrill of Berkeley County, Herb Kirsh of York County and other genuine taxpayer heroes rightfully want to end that improper practice.

- Reps. Nikki Haley of Lexington County and Nathan Ballentine of Richland County have introduced transparency-related measures, including a successful effort to require more legislative votes to be recorded, and they have pending legislation for more stringent campaign contribution disclosure requirements.

- House Speaker Bobby Harrell of Charleston County and others are laying the groundwork for comprehensive tax reform.

- Senate President Pro-Tem Glenn McConnell of Charleston County and others want to cap state spending to ensure that the growth of state government doesn’t outpace our ability to pay for it. The recent budget shortfalls are a glaring example of why this legislation is needed; simply put, government tends to spend everything it collects during prosperous times, and then is forced to enact painful cuts whenever the economy slows down.

- Senator Shane Massey of Edgefield County wants lawmakers to accept full responsibility for their “pork barrel projects.” His proposed “earmark reform” bill would ban secret spending for these projects.

Whether or not you agree with all of these specific proposals, what’s clear is that most of them would greatly benefit our state. In the midst of tough economic times for many South Carolinians, now might be a perfect time to insist upon fundamental changes in the way government operates.