Coburn Takes on State Spending

I’ve been on a big “government efficiency” kick today. How can anyone be against this?

Sen. Tom Coburn (R.-Okla.) co-sponsored the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act that President Bush signed into law last month. The bill calls for a public database to track the receipt of federal funds in detail. Now Coburn is calling for the same type of database to be developed at the state level, in an effort to establish greater government transparency.

Here is an excerpt from the Oklahoman…

Many taxpayers are frustrated that the state budget is now $7.1 billion, an all-time high. They may be aware that their tax dollars have paid for things like rooster shows and ghost employees and $100 car washes, but these things are just the tip of the iceberg.
The Legislature should pass a law requiring the Office of State Finance to set up a searchable website modeled after the federal version. Taxpayers deserve to know the name of every recipient of state dollars, as well as the amount received in each of the last 10 years and an itemized breakdown of each transaction, including the state agency dispensing the money and a description of the purpose of the funding.
As conservatives, we favor low taxes, limited government, and spending limitations. Many of the people and organizations who fight for bigger government do so because, you guessed it, they receive taxpayer dollars. Those who take the king’s shilling do the king’s bidding. Taxpayers deserve to know who they are.

This is something that every single American should be behind. Why not? We should have access to see where every single dollar tax dollar goes. I’m not saying that we need to know who bought a Snickers with a government dollar… but I’m kinda saying that we should know who bought a Snickers with a government dollar.
It looks as though Sen. Coburn is pretty much the only real conservative left in the Senate.