Webinar: Accountability as a Tool for Recovery and Growth

On December 16, 2010, Progressive States Network hosted a webinar on utilizing accountability as a tool for economic growth and recovery.

We were pleased to hold this webinar with Good Jobs First, which recently released three new tools concerning economic development transparency. The first is a report called Show Us the Subsidies, which rates the states on their online reporting systems about subsidy recipients and performance measures. The second is Accountable USA, a set of web pages profiling each state's subsidy practices along with case studies of large/controversial deals and other features. The third is Subsidy Tracker, the first database to combine subsidy recipient information from different states into a single national search engine.

We were also privileged to be joined by Maine State Representative Diane Russell and Deirdre Cummings, Legislative Director at MASSPIRG, who discussed specific campaigns and legislative successes.

Dealing with the aftermath of the recession and continued revenue shortfalls, states cannot afford to hand out enormous subsidies or award lavish contracts with nothing to show in return. To make sure that taxpayer dollars are being used in the best public interest, states must implement stronger accountability measures.

For more resources on the subject, please visit:

Good Jobs First – AccountableUSA
Good Jobs First – Show Us The Subsidies
Good Jobs First – Subsidy Tracker
Progressive States Action – Corporate Transparency in State Budgets
Progressive States Network – Budget Transparency Advances Across the Country
U.S. PIRG – Following the Money: How the 50 States Rate in Providing Online Access to Government Spending Data

Below are recent Stateside Dispatch articles that PSN released about transparency and accountability.

• New Report Highlights the Importance of Transparency and Accountability in State Budgets
• Moving Forward: Championing the Middle Class and Promoting Transparency
• Messaging for Government Action in an Economic Downturn

We also had the opportunity to cover these topics at our 2010 Legislative Leadership Retreat. You can find presentations and resources from that Retreat workshop under the heading "Fostering Transparency and Accountability as Tools for Economic Recovery" at www.progressivestates.org/retreat2010/materials.