Wednesday, June 25th, 2008
Money is not only the root of much of the evil in government ethics, it is also
the lifeblood of government ethics. Without money, ethics commissions,
at least in cities and states, as opposed to towns, cannot do their job.
Do something the legislative body doesn't like and it has a good way to
get back at you: cut off your funds or fail to fund your new
obligations. At budget time, government ethics commissions, no
matter how independent, often become just another political...