The irony of being President

I don't plan on spending all my time talking about politics ... but like so many others on the Internet I just can't help myself.

In order for the taxpayers of the United States to feel comfortable about supporting the United Nations, there has to be an open accounting.

Source: Bush Sidesteps Annan Resignation Issue, by Ken Guggenheim of the Associated Press

Which advocate of open government made the above statement? Ok, perhaps advocate isn't quite the correct term. I'm thinking more ... um ... opponent. If you said President Bush then you'd be correct. (Did you cheat and read the rest of the article?)

The Bush administration needs to have the same conversation with it's own staff and members of Congress. And I mean with all memebers of Congress, not just Republicans. The goverment should be accountable to it's constituents. That's not possible if activities of interest (with a few exceptions) aren't available to public scrutiny.

Did somebody say something about Republicans? According to the Washington Post, budget writers for the party have been trying to work out a method of reforming Social Security without causing a huge increase in the budget deficit. One method being put forward is to use accounting mechanisms so that the cost of the reform does not show up on the budget.

No doubt somebody with a shiny, new MBA thought this sounded like a good idea. The U.S. Government, however, is not a business and should not resort to accounting tricks to look like it's healthier than it truly is. I'd rather see a more accurate accounting (truth in accounting) within the goverment.