Some skeptics argue that transparency and efficiency are inversely related—that the time an agency spends prepping data could be better spent actually administrating. (Lawrence Lessig, meanwhile, argues that it makes us see skeeziness where skeeziness doesn’t exist.) The Obama administration rejects that framework. Quite the opposite, it says: Transparency and efficiency go hand in hand. The data are already there. They just need to be better organized. Making them public makes better organization possible—both by the agency and by academics, businesses, and activists. And better information means greater ability to figure out what works and what doesn’t. The tricky part will be getting agencies to comply. At least we’ll all have the chance to watch.

{ Comments on this entry are closed }