Big data and citizenship

Having discovered Steve Ballmer's new initiative on a podcast, I decided to have a deeper look at his new pet project. Ballmer wants to offer a clear view on public spending, but more specifically a more readable and understandable view of the American public sector spending. Therefore, he funded a (indubitably on Microsoft technologies) web site where every citizen could understand where the money comes from and where it goes.

Even if it is not the purpose of my blog to be politically oriented, I was wondering why did we need to have an American billionaire to have those kind of clear and neat reading of what political parties are doing with people's money? Why don't we have the same in Europe? Why is it that every single democratic state can't offer that kind of public information so that the tax payers could understand and follow what happens with the public policies?

Why do we even need to make the publicity of this kind of "innovation" when we think on the purpose of public service and why politicians haven't come to that idea by themselves? Was it that difficult??

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