by Roger Prather

Created on: November 28, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama campaigned and won on a platform of change. The overwhelming voter turnout to elect Mr. Obama shows that change is exactly what Americans want. Of course, different Americans are looking for different kinds of change, but there are fundamental changes that the Obama administration needs to make. One area where change is desperately needed is in governmental transparency. If Mr. Obama has the courage and determination to follow through on his campaign pledge of change, he can make significant strides in changing the opaque nature of government under the Bush administration to a transparent government that is of, by, and for the people, particularly in the areas of spending, relationships, and security.

According to the Office of Management and Budget, the 2008 Congress passed a total of 11,524 earmarks totalling $16.5 billion. Many in government and the private sector who benefit from these earmarks may remark that the 2008 figures represent a drastic reduction in earmark spending from just two years ago. Others might mention that $16.5 billion is only a fraction of the nearly $3 trillion budget proposed by President Bush. This type of thinking is exemplary of the problems in government when it comes to money. In the current economic crisis, $16.5 billion appears to be a significant amount of money to the average American taxpayer (because it is!). For a population of approximately 305,754,000, total earmark spending represents about $53.00 for every American. For a family of three, that's $159.00 - a month of groceries, 4.5 tanks of gas, two weeks of heating fuel, well, you get the picture. American taxpayers - the ones who pay for the $16.5 billion in pet political projects - should be the ones deciding how that money is better spent. The problem politicians have with that is most would choose to feed their children or heat their homes rather than give money to fund obscure projects like cranberry research in southeastern Massachusetts, for example. And this doesn't even begin to touch on the apparent mismanagement of the almost $1 trillion bailout package that passed during the election. An Obama administration needs to develop an outlet, preferably online, where American taxpayers can find out exactly how their money is being spent, and it should include a function whereby voters can express their opinions.

In 2001, Vice President Dick Cheney chaired the National Energy Policy Development Group. Initially, the Bush administration

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