New Government Accountability App Launching in Washington State

Government accountability is a term we use often to explain how we believe government should work.  The problem is not everyone thinks the government should work the same way, so there are different interpretations of the accountability piece.

The traditional definition of government accountability is

...the responsibility of government officials and institutions to be transparent, answerable, and liable for their actions and decisions. It ensures that the government operates in the best interest of the people and upholds democratic principles.

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Holding government accountable is a whole different animal.  Those who are committed to it spend countless hours submitting public records requests and pouring through data sets across a number of websites.  That process may become much more simplified thanks to the architect of the Results Washington accountability program, a former Governor and Presidential candidate, and a Washington State think tank.

John Bernard, the man behind Results Washington (which launched in 2013 and was ended by Gov. Bob Ferguson), has teamed up with former Maryland Governor, presidential Candidate in 2020, and Social Security Commissioner Martin O'Malley, and the Washington Policy Center to launch America's Pulse.

Bernard and O'Malley held a media availability this past Monday in Seattle to announce the launch of the app, which will happen this Friday in Spokane.  The idea behind America's Pulse is simple - track government performance across 50 different categories for all 50 States.  Anyone can compare and contrast how each State measures up in education, public safety, economics, and more.

How Exactly Does It Work?

The app compiles data reported by all 50 States (in those 50 categories) to the Federal Government in one place for you to view.  Instead of searching through countless webpages all you need to do is open the app.  While saying no data sets are perfect they do boast

...this rigorous, transparent process makes federal data the most reliable, standardized, and comparable source available for measuring state performance.

If you learn more about America's Pulse, or try it out for yourself, click here