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Why Transparency?
Creating Trust in Government
J
oseph
C
oletti
D
ecember
2009
NC Transparency
Creating trust in government
policy report
Why Transparency?
Creating trust in government
Joseph Coletti
December 2009
The views expressed in this report are solely those of the author and do not
necessarily reect those of the staff or board of the John Locke Foundation.For more information, call 919-828-3876 or visit www.JohnLocke.org.©2009 by the John Locke Foundation.
John locke foundation
Why transparency?
Open government is just as important in a mod-ern republic as it was two centuries ago. Largerbureaucratic states threatened to overwhelmthe ability of citizens and their representatives tokeep track of government. Revelations of corrupt
government ofcials, fraud in various programs,subsidies to chosen groups or companies, andlaws written by lobbyists still surface. Fortunately,
more tools are available every day to make moreinformation available from more governments tomore people.
1
The John Locke Foundation is taking stepsto help governments become more open.Our NCTransparency.com site helps taxpay-
ers nd government information online andgives grades for a quick check of how much isavailable for a state agency, local government,
or school district. Our latest policy report on
transparency provides three areas for im
-
proved transparency and some examples ofwhat is already available.
2
This guide has four sections:How to think about transparencyHow to increase nancial transparencyHow to expand transparency to the pro
-
cess of governingHow to plan for transparency
1.2.3.4.
1. Jerry Mechling, “Creating See-Through Government,”
Governing
,October 6, 2009,
www.governing.com/column/creating-see-through- government
.
2. Joseph Coletti, “Trust But Verify: Open government is bettergovernment,” John Locke Foundation
Policy Report
, December 2009,
www.johnlocke.org/policy_reports/index.html?year=2009
.
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