I preach this over and over, but in a world with ever improving data flow it just makes sense to be as transparent as possible. Not only is it the right thing to do, it’s just the smart thing to do.
But as we begin to work toward transparency there will obviously be some growing pains.
Witness the app “Open the Books” which works to track government spending at state levels in real time. Of course this will make politicians more uncomfortable in the short run because the system is not used to such immediate scrutiny and data flow.
Many politicians may deride the app as somehow hurting their ability to do their job.
But in the end, the rabbit is out of the hat and arguing against transparency – especially in this case – is almost laughable especially when it involves the custodial care of taxpayer funds.
So whether you are dealing with taxpayers, shareholders, employees get used to a more “open” policy. There may be some discomfort in the beginning but long term we are all better off.