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| Yes | 67% | 62 votes | Total: 92 votes | |
| No | 33% | 30 votes |
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Add to FavoritesI think that because of the amount of corruption and illegal dealings involved in politics today, that people in positions of power should always be made to make their personal finances available to the public. This would improve peoples confidences in them and would reduce corruption and inside trading, as well as various other illegal activities.
Countless governors, councilors etc and even higher up the political chain have for years been accepting bribes to ask questions in sessions, and to vote a particular way on new laws and legislations etc, and the public haven't been aware of it because of their not being allowed to view their personal finances, and their business dealings. Inside trading between companies owned by people in power and those who would influence them, or would use their inside information to make money unfairly and often at common peoples expense, should have it made as difficult as possible for them to continue these practices.
The likelihood is that they would simply be more careful in their dealings and would eventually learn to hide things better, although this would mean that they couldn't be directly involved in corrupt companies, or be making quite as much as they were before, which is for everyones benefit. If we could get to the stage that politicians were in the profession to try to improve the country and living standards, rather then just their own craving for money and personal power, then the country would be much better for it, and making lawmakers finances public would be a good first step to take in this direction.
Learn more about this author, Dambrath.
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No
Whew! I have to confess I am very tempted to say the personal finances of politicians should be an open book. I will instead say what I believe to be right: a person's personal finances should have nothing to do with their political life. If something is suspected in relation to their public life, it can be investigated, but personal finances are called personal for a reason and should remain personal otherwise.
We as a country are too much into micromanaging everything. We think if we have our fingers in every pie, we can 'fix' things according to our own views. The rise of political blogging or citizen journalism may have had an influence on this trend. Then again, political blogging is more likely a reaction to the micromanagement of our federal government.
Contrary to popular opinion, we do not have the right to know everything about everyone just because they go into politics, become a celebrity or run the local dry cleaners. Certain things should remain private, and we should respect their right to keep it private. If we were in the same situation, we would probably not want everyone to have intimate knowledge of our personal finances even if we had nothing to hide. How I spend my money is my business, and how they spend their money, as long as it doesn't have anything to do with their job as a politician, is their business to disclose or not as they see fit.
While certain aspects of their finances should be open to scrutiny of an overseer, who would check for special interest problems, personal finances need to remain personal. If I want to give to certain charities, or buy a new boat with my personal finances, that's nobody's business. If I want to buy a pair of sneakers for every day of the week, that's my business. However, if I want to pass legislation in order to give special preference to my own personal company or special interests, that is another thing altogether.
Any financing having to do with the office they hold should certainly receive the scrutiny of the public. How else would we hold them accountable? I believe, however, that we should respect their right to retain some privacy over their personal lives, except when it affects US citizens. We should focus our attention more on their spending of public monies and their personal and public ethics than trying to peek into their personal bank accounts.
Learn more about this author, Angela S. Young.
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