Professor Gary Murphy:

Concern was expressed about overly-bureaucratic structures and too much information being sought, particularly regarding finance. That was a big issue. This goes to the heart of the question about regulation. There is a tendency in the United States for the members of the Republican party to regard regulation as bad. There has been a sea change there. The United States has onerous regulations, including the cooling-off period of five years in some states and all payments made having to be registered, as was mentioned. There has been significant kickback against that regulation in the last decade or so.

My final point, which I like to think is an important one, is the cost. The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission had a staff of 28 people. It was then gutted in a cost-cutting exercise. I remember mentioning that to a senior civil servant that that office had a staff of 28 people. He blanched at that, but I was not saying that SIPO should have a staff of 28 people. Transparency costs money in one way. Potentially, therefore, that may account for Departments' reticence in these straitened times.