I have always argued that, if you are funded with the public's money, the public has a right to know what you're up to with that money. Transparency in a democracy is essential. It prevents such hideous excess as the city manager of Bell, CA, making over $1.5 million in publicly funded salary and bonuses, which in my mind is a criminal act in any economic setting.
I've become so critical of the current "system," which I personally consider tragically broken, that when I read or see/hear any news coverage, I immediately wonder, "Who is paying for me to receive this message? Who is behind trying to influence my thinking in this way?" And now that corporations can contribute any amount of money they want to our political system, the political influence peddling even gets more convoluted.
The Sunlight Foundation is working to peel back the layers of hidden influence. They have designed a cool tool, Poligraft, such a clever name, to assist in disclosing who is funding what in Congress. So when you read something on line, the hidden connections are just a click away.
Check it out by watching this short video. Hopefully this is just the beginning in a trend to apply technology to publicly available government data at all levels of government and policy influence peddling.
Related articles:
- Poligraft Tracks Influence on Government (readwriteweb.com)
- Poligraft Adds Level of Campaign Finance Analysis to News Articles (news.firedoglake.com)
- Poligraft Tool for Journalists, Politicos, Voters (currentbuzz.org)
