If you can't trust your government with money, then how can you trust them with homeland security?

Not exactly directly related to homeland security; however, this is what is to be expected after you abuse your power and trust by not meeting the public's expectations and/or not listening or responding to public need. This comes back around in the arena of community resiliency ... how does the government come into poorer inner city communities (for example) and "sell" the public on pandemic flu preparedness and community-based preparedness schemes? If nobody trusts you - especially after Katrina,the appointment of Harriet Miers, illegal wiretapping, brazen logic-free Cabinet members and appointees, etc. - you can't get the job done at the end of the day. This ultimately moves us backwards, not forwards...


Public trust in government bleak, survey finds
By Robert Brodsky

Taxpayers overwhelmingly believe the federal government has failed to explain how it generates and spends money, creating a growing expectations gap that is eroding the public's trust in its leaders, according to a new survey released Wednesday. The survey, Public Attitudes to Government Accountability and Transparency 2008, measured how 1,652 adults felt about federal, state and local governments' financial management and accountability to taxpayers. The results paint a grim picture of the public's unhappiness with both the availability of financial information and the way it is delivered to citizens, said Relmond Van Daniker, executive director of the Association of Government Accountants, which commissioned the study. The poll was conducted by Harris Interactive, a market research firm based in Rochester, N.Y.

Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=39336&dcn=e_gvet