The Volokh Conspiracy
[Jonathan Adler, December 13, 2007 at 12:06pm] Trackbacks
USASpending.Gov:

Today the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is launching a new website, USASpending.gov, to increase transparency and accountability in the federal appropriations process. As Glenn Reynolds notes, this is "good news on the pork front."

Tyrone Slothrop (mail) (www):
It's only good news on the pork front if you assume that voters do not like politicians who bring pork home to their districts and would punish them if only they knew about it. Since the opposite seems to be true, transparency and accountability would appear to be the friends of pork, not its enemies.
12.13.2007 11:56am
Adam J:
After six years of letting congress dish out the pork, the executive suddenly is attempting to find fiscal restraint... let's see how well that works out.
12.13.2007 12:02pm
martinned (mail) (www):
L.S.,

Indeed. The general logic of pork is that for any one item, the average taxpayer has a small stake, while the beneficiary (-ies) have a large stake. In many cases, increased transparency makes it easier for lobbyists to make sure that politicians are keeping up their end of the bargain, while the general public has very little incentive to consult a website such as this one.
12.13.2007 12:07pm
CEB:
I'm a little confused. I thought that Reynolds himself noted a few weeks back that this website was having the opposite effect of what was intended.
12.13.2007 12:18pm
TGGP (mail) (www):
Didn't you guys already say that transparency increases pork?
12.13.2007 12:51pm
No interest loans:
Where's the line item for interest on the national debt?
12.13.2007 4:05pm
Scott D (mail) (www):
The Pork Front or Pork Watch -- good names for a band. It's noteworthy from a Madisonian perspective to consider OMB/Executive branch having an interest in exposing Congressional spending. But that doesn't sound catchy enough for the music industry these days.
12.14.2007 12:38am

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