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Governments exist to serve their citizens. Citizens have the right to an understanding of how their government operates and if their tax dollars are being spent efficiently and effectively. And governments have a responsibility to provide that information in an easily understandable way. Government financial statements are too large and too complicated for average citizens, meaning those without a college degree in finance, economics or accounting.
Over the past year, AGA's Citizen-Centric Government Task Force has been discussing this issue and how AGA can contribute to a solution. The task force's main idea is that governments should publish an annual state of the government report to its citizens that is no more than four pages long. Such a report would provide understandable information about the financial condition of the government that would ultimately answer the question, "Are we better off today than we were last year?" The task force believes that the report would make governments more accountable to their citizens and would help Americans become more educated citizens, who are better able to participate in government activities.
Governments would be encouraged to include the report in their local newspaper and post it to their government...