Michigan's Spending Transparency CPR: Show Michigan the Money

As legislative efforts to increase transparency in Michigan's government finance seem to have come to a halt, Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land has revived the debate by posting detailed itemization for much of her agency's 2007 expenditures while promising to release this type of information on a quarterly basis going forward.

Previously, Attorney General Mike Cox had posted his office's quarterly expenditures and contracts on his website, and toured the state championing transparency in government spending.

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy has also embarked on a quest to make Michigan's government finances less opaque and has set up a website dedicated to this goal. The "Show Michigan the Money Project" hosts the "School Checkbook Transparency Project," which get the check registers of Michigan’s public school districts posted on the Internet. Also available on the website are collective bargaining contracts for every Michigan school district, and other relevant items.

Message to transparency opponents: You can't keep a good idea down!