Survey on Public Trust in Govt. Spending

Government Executive reports on a new survey that supports the need for a key function of ethics programs: Increasing public confidence in government:

Taxpayers overwhelmingly believe the federal government has failed to explain how it collects and spends money, creating a growing expectations gap that is eroding the public's trust in its leaders, according to a survey released Wednesday.

With the Association of Government Accountants sponsoring the survey, there's little surprise that the results document a desire for more financial information, but at the same time, the public perception of government ethics is probably a contributing factor.