Ten Transparency Treasure Troves

The Obama Administration claims they wish to be the most transparent in the history of the United States. Who could possibly be against that? As a matter of fact, I think it’s an achievable goal for all levels of government, a great political issue, and a fair deal for taxpayers. Today I just wanted to highlight some of the tools and sites that are actually making that happen, and should be a model for those that wish to be transformational transparency leaders.

Ten Transparency Treasure Troves

10. Pork Page! Go check out the vast assortment of links that will direct you to a lot of oinky outrage.

9. The Votes sites. Check out MichiganVotes.org, HawaiiVotes.org, NewMexicoVotes.org, RhodeIslandVotes.org, PennsylvaniaVotes.org, and TennesseeVotes.org for layman’s translations of bills and information on legislation, elected officials, issues, and more.

8. Sunshine on Schools by the North Dakota Policy Council.

7. SchoolBoardTransparency.org is a blog that sheds light on Pennsylvania’s school board-union contract negotiations. Love. It.

6. The beginning of county spending transparency. Collin County, Texas is leading the way along with DuPage County, Illinois. New mantera: Searchable databases!

5. Center for Fiscal Accountability website, sponsored by Americans for Tax Reform. The site is packed with the latest transparency news, so go check it out. Wait…not yet! There’s still 4 more to go!

4. Organizations and individuals sent President Obama a list of federal transparency recommendations to implement in his first 100 days in office. Check out the full list here.

3. ReadTheStimulus.org – As the site suggests, “$850 Billion, 334 pages, and counting… somebody needs to read it!” and that “somebody” needs to be you, the taxpayer footing the bill for this untested economic plan. After you read it, let your congresscritter know how you want your district’s vote to go. Head over to GrabAShovel.com to check out the related Twitter stream.

2. Citizens Against Government Waste hosts the ever-popular Piglet Books that expose national and state pork-barrel spending. Go check them out and watch your blood pressure rise.

1. SunshineReview.org – What can I say? I’m probably more than a little biased, but our wiki-based mama site is transparency heaven to state-based open government activists. It’s a young wiki, and relies on volunteer writers to add content about their local state, municipal, county, or school board government. Be sure to check out the Show Me the Spending portal (sponsored by the National Taxpayers Union) to try to keep track of your state’s dollars and sense.

Did I miss something? Drop me a line in comments.