Opaque "transparency"

As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama promised us a government of "transparency." Forget for the moment that he has already signed into law almost 20 bills which were not posted in full on the internet beforehand, as he promised they would be. Push aside for the moment the fact that he now wants resolution of a 1,000+ page healthcare bill in a matter of two weeks (sooner than any experienced Congressional staffer could possibly digest the same and certainly sooner than any meagerly-informed electorate could possibly deliberate the same).

Above all of that, there is word today of another troubling breach of this promise.

Despite our ever-shortening memories as Americans, do you remember what T.A.R.P. is? It's the Troubled Asset Relief Program - the debacle initiated by the president whom we all mistakenly thought to be a "conservative" and then approved by then-Senator Brack Obama. The federal government's Inspector General for that program has now told Congress that the $700 billion program may eventually end up costing the federal government (ie: those of us who actually pay taxes) anywhere from $3 trillion to $23 trillion. That's right. As we await the pronouncement that we need yet another "stimulus" package, the government's own employees (again, non-partisan) now say that we should be using multipliers of anywhere from 3 - 23 when our Congress predicts the "cost" to us.

To add insult to injury, we learned to day that the Treasury Department has "repeatedly failed" to adopt recommendations that the IG's office believes will bring more transparency and accountability to the execution of the bailout. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/07/20/watchdog-financial-bailout-support-reach-trillion/. I guess his definition of transparency is a bit more opaque than mine.

I might have missed the news on this one while I was working and generating taxes today; but, I didn't hear this news from the White House. No, I first heard reports of it from independent news agencies. Although, by then the White House was already busy issuing "qualifications" and "clarifications" of it. I'm sure you'll hear more polished versions of the same on your nightly news.

So much for transparency.

As Earl Pitts says, "Wake up Amurica!"

For what it's worth.