There is no right to know

Newsflash:

Without special permission, officials [at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] are no longer allowed to provide information to reporters except on a background basis.

(Source.)

Let’s get that straight. You and I pay taxes to support one of the most important safety agencies in the world, one that spends millions of dollars studying a machine we all use every day: Cars. But to talk to one of those safety experts…whoops, no, we can’t. And reporters can’t, in any meaningful way.

The explanation? “We were finding a lot of stuff did not need to be on the record.” That’s from chief of staff for the political appointee who now runs NHTSA.

Talk about an upside-down view of the world. “We were finding a lot of stuff did not need to be on the record.” This is a democratic republic. We presume that our civil servants are working for us, so they’re obligated — indeed, honor-bound — to answer to the American people because we’re their employers.

This guy apparently believes that civil servants need a good reason to speak to Americans. Funny, in my world a civil servant needs a darned good reason not to.

posted by Sra. Bibliotecaria ⋅ tagged america, politics

Comments are closed.