A “Lack of Data” at Recovery.Gov
I originally thought that it was a great idea to set up an online tracking tool so citizens could see what happens to their tax dollars, particularly when the government is so busy handing those dollars out to everyone. The people in charge of the web site, however, seem to be finding it difficult to deliver the goods thus far.
Tracking the spending from the $787 billion economic stimulus package is proving difficult because of shortcomings in the available data, the chairman of the stimulus act oversight board said today.
“I am concerned about data quality,” said Earl Devaney, chairman of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing. “The federal government’s systems have never been fully successful at producing timely and reliable data.”
So…. shortcomings in available data, eh?
Unable to get hold of timely and reliable data?
I may be off-base here, but… doesn’t that mean you don’t know where the money is going yet?
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One Response to “A “Lack of Data” at Recovery.Gov”
You're not only off base, you're outside the park. Do you have any idea just how much data is involved here? Thousands of recipients, thousands of people filling out forms trying to account for every penny they've used. This is something we want them to do, but it takes time and resources.
I believe the bill was signed 21 February. – a month ago.
Every comment I've written on this subject to either you or the other columnists on TMV has said the same thing. PATIENCE. Why is it so hard for contemporary journalists and commentators to grasp that the scale of this crisis exceeds almost anything we've dealt with since World War II? It will take time, energy and vast resources to untangle the mess speculators, and their supporters, have made.
30 days? It's ridiculous to think we can expect even the most minimal information on how the money is being spent.
The real tragedy is that people like you continue to make a bad situation worse. This drumbeat of “why not now?” raises expectations to a gruesome level.
I'd just like to see, for myself and the rest of the American public, some serious and thoughtful understanding of the scale of this crisis and what it will take to get it fixed. That desire is clearly not reflected in your column. You demonstrate a penchant for the opposite.