Tim Fernholz on what lessons the Sunlight Foundation’s efforts during the financial-reform battle can teach us for the impending regulatory phase:
The financial-reform bill has been a good test case for what happens when Congress introduces transparency into a clash that pits the interests of the powerful against those of the public. While it will take some time to assess the legislation itself — the Senate is expected to pass the bill after the July Fourth recess — we can consider how effective efforts to bring openness to the legislative process have been in terms of both scoring political points and delivering sound public policy. This is an especially important test because the legislation will only reach its full potential if reformers focus their attention on federal regulators who will enforce the law.