- Center for Public Integrity
A recent survey conducted by the DC based Center for Public Integrity gives Idaho a failing grade when it comes to our state’s financial disclosure laws. The survey that ranks legislatures’ accountability to voters concludes that Idaho, along with Vermont and Michigan, ranks dead last when it comes to financial disclosure laws for our elected officials. In fact, Idaho scored ZERO points.
According to an AP article out of Boise: “Senators had tried to remedy the situation, passing a measure in the 2009 Legislature to require elected officials and candidates to publicly disclose some details about their and their spouse’s business interests.
“But House Speaker Lawerence Denney was miffed at not being more actively included in the drafting of the bill and held it at his desk without a House vote.
“Louisiana and Washington state ranked highest on the list, which the Center for Public Integrity has compiled for a decade; in all, 20 states flunked.”
So, how important is it to you, that elected officials must disclose their family’s finances – assets, investments and resources? If it is important, to what degree can the public justify the invasion of privacy? Would you even consider it an invasion of privacy?
For your review, you may read the survey for yourself at http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/states_of_disclosure/.
Popularity: 7%
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Gato got runned over by Marcus many moons ago. Be ye daft, 2486? 
Let's have a new poll, alright, Joe?
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes and no.
Yes, because it shows transparency. It helps voters and taxpayers to increase their trust of elected officials. It helps provide us with confidence that there is not a conflict of interest when an elected votes a particular way.
No, because it intrudes on their lives. As it is now, many folks chose not to seek public office because of the scrutiny that comes with it. I fear we are losing out on having good, quality people seek public office because of the intense intrusions into their personal and family lives.
I think there must be a balance. Idaho may not be tops on the list, but we suffer less corruption than most states at the top on the survey.
No, they shouldn’t be required to disclose their personal finances to the public. If they’re doing a good job with my tax money, I could care less about how they spend their own or whether or not they pay their taxes correctly. Audits happen, and it will catch up to them.
I think they should disclose their personal finances since they have the power to make laws that directly benefit themselves financially. The next best thing would be to have them excuse themselves from voting on bills in which they have a personal interest, and somebody making sure that they do so.
I’m not sure I want to know any more about their finances than I want to know what goes on in their bedroom (which I REALLY don’t want to know about).
Aside from comment #3 regarding voting on things that would benefit them personally, I can’t think of any reason we would need to know about their finances.
Of course, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to find that most politicians push things that would benefit their own lives. It would be interesting to know if any of them obviously push an issue that would be detrimental to their own lives.
If they are doing a good job, I really don’t care about their personal lives. But, we generally don’t even hear about their personal lives (at least anything negative) till they screw up.