The Yankee Institute for Public Policy has struck a blow for state-government transparency by going live with a new Web site, CTsunlight.org, which lists where every dollar spent by state government goes.
Following a massive Freedom of Information Act request for data covering calendar 2007 and 2008, the Hartford-based conservative think tank has made it possible for taxpayers to truly scrutinize what the folks in Hartford are doing with their money. For example, did you know that 1,137 state employees are paid more than Connecticut’s chief executive, Gov. M. Jodi Rell? Or that the office of state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal spent more than $5 million on private lawyers? (But wait — isn’t he a lawyer? Which is exactly the point.)
The wise men who framed the Constitution more than 200 years ago could never have conceived of how large, complex and shielded from public view are the governmental entities of the 21st century — and in our case, we’re talking about the government of the third-smallest state.
Whatever your own political persuasion, the Yankee Institute has done citizens a good turn. Sunlight really is the best disinfectant.
