Letter

To the Editor:

In “The State of Corporate Welfare”, the Multinational Monitor editorializes about a “new form of corporate welfare” the publication calls “crony contractor welfare,” and argues that contracting out government jobs has mutated out of control, and that the contracts awarded by the federal government are replete with waste and fraud.

The solution to combating what the Monitor calls “crony contractor welfare,” nonetheless, is not restoring more government.  The solution is transparency.   Shedding a light on government expenditures and procurement policies is the safest way to root out any fraudulent or wasteful practices.

Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) is currently working with state legislators, activists and governors around the country to pass legislation in all fifty states that would create web sites on which taxpayers could track government expenditures.

The “Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006,” which creates a free, publicly searchable website for information on all federal contracts and grants, serves as a starting point for these state efforts, which are underway in more than a dozen states.  Just like the federal legislation, the state endeavors, too, enjoy bipartisan support.  

ATR believes that the stipulations put forth in the federal law do not go far enough.  From a taxpayer’s perspective, the ideal situation would be disclosure of all relevant information on government expenditures including grants and contracts without a dollar threshold while linking to the text of the actual grants and contracts.  Open government is good government.

As Texas Governor Rick Perry, who is spearheading transparency efforts in his state, has pointed out: “If the taxpayers are picking up the bill, they ought to be able to look at every item on the receipt.”

Transparency begets accountability. Consequently, everyone concerned about fraud, waste and abuse, be it within the government or in the case of government awarding contracts to private entities, should lend their support to these very state efforts to bring transparency into government expenditures, including grants and contracts.  More information on state efforts on transparency can be accessed here.: www.atr.org/state/projects/govtransparency.html.

Grover Norquist
Americans for Tax Reform
Washington, D.C.