Earmark Reform, After All?

Looks like we've got an ethics bill, including provisions on making earmarks more transparent. The votes were overwhelming in Congress, although not everyone buys into this bill (the White House calls the earmark provisions "toothless"). But several good-government groups say the bill is at least better than the rules in place now.

Here's one key point to keep in mind: It's all about trust. Facing Up is about tacking the long-term fiscal challenges our country faces. That can't be done without public support. All the research shows that the public can grasp the magnitude of the problem and is even willing to consider tough choices and sacrifices to solve it. But public cynicism about government is a huge problem. People seem willing to support changes that require sacrifice, but only if they could be assured that their tax money was being well spent.

So the question about this ethics bill is: will to help build that kind of trust? Because we're running short on time.