Accountability boils down to a simple concept of ethics. Often associated with similar notions of “responsibility” or “liability”, to hold someone “accountable” for their actions is to acknowledge decisions, polices and roles that explain or justify resulting consequences. There are many types of accountability—political, administrative, public, private—and the varying degrees of measuring accountability tend to overlap.
A perfect example is today’s economic meltdown. Spurred by a housing collapse, that plummeted financial institutions, that triggered job losses by the millions, that shredded retirement accounts, and that has wiped out household wealth at a breathtaking pace; nearly everyone is looking to point the blame at just about everyone; a “do-nothing” Bush administration, the homeowners who borrowed outside of their means, the investors blinded by greed, and the embattled CEO’s accused of corruption and incompetence.
Historically—and by no coincidence—accountability stems from the financial market. It is believed to have derived from the Roman’s upon development of its money lending system. In practice, borrowers would be held responsible to their account with their lending merchants. A failure by the borrower to meet requirements to their lender would then lead to the consequence of punishment (often times, with fatal results.)
Today, accountability has become a rising topic for President Barack Obama. Confronted with what many are calling the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, President Obama is pushing for sweeping reform on the ethical conduct by business leaders and on the responsible behavior by consumers. Issuing a call for “a new era of responsibility,” the Obama administration hopes to lead by example by implementing “the most open and transparent administration in American history.”
But already, critics have begun to label Obama’s accountability alert nothing more than rhetoric. It comes with the passage of the president’s first bill signed into law. As part of Obama’s promise for transparency, a commitment was made to seek public comment on all pending legislation posted on the White House website for at least 5 days before being signed. Unfortunately, the Obama administration let this promise slip through the cracks. Upon signing the much deserved Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act—the very first piece of legislation to cross the President’s desk—sadly, it was the last to receive public comment on the internet, as promoted. Only after the bill was signed into law did details surface on whitehouse.gov. The result: a failure in the eyes of anxious critics, and a potential strike against a citizenry already on the edge of doubt.
According to a recent survey conducted by Harvard’s Kennedy School of Business, an astounding 80 percent of American’s believe that our nation not only suffers from an economic crisis today, but a leadership crisis as well. And if reckless habits aren’t reformed soon, data suggests that 79 percent believe the United States will decline as a superpower to the world. This notion not only relies on trust in government leadership, but also in the regulation of financial institutions and the direction of decisions made by American families.
To fix the problems of the jobless, the evicted, the uninsured and the like, is to fix the mindset that got us in such a position to begin with. It means not only holding our highest leaders responsible for their actions, but also making smart and healthy investments at home. The Obama administration knows that accountability counts most if it wants to gain confidence and restore trust among the American public again. Without this support, it may be a long road to recovery as a nation. But no website touting transparency and no multi-billion dollar deal to stimulate the economy will ever be enough to cure what ails the country unless we dig at the core of the problem and root out the strains of infection inflecting our nation.
Accountability counts because it builds trust just as fast as it can break it. This became evident with the recent impeachment of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojovich. Within four short days, the state senate voted unanimously to oust the tainted politician on charges that he abused his power while in office, including an attempt to sell President Obama’s senate seat for personal gain. To Obama’s credit, he emerged as a moral victor in the scandal; able to walk away unscathed of any political wrongdoing. As for the “broken promise” stemming from the Ledbetter Act; it may have innocently been what one White House spokeswoman described as delays caused by “technical and other issues.” Only time, gauged by accountability, will tell whether Obama—America’s leader of “change”—will be able to iron out the “issues” to lead us to restoration.
Jenni Monet is a freelance journalist and documentary filmmaker whose work has been broadcast nationally through TV and radio outlets, including CBS affiliate stations, NPR and local PBS networks.
