TRANSPARENCY: Executive order: Gov. Haslam throws out income disclosure rules. “Under the order signed after Haslam took office on Saturday, the disclosure rules applying to himself and senior administration officials will be the same as those for members of the General Assembly. Those only requires them to list sources of income, but not how much they make.” No, I don’t know what this is about, but it looks bad.

UPDATE: Reader Frank Meyer writes:

I agree that it looks bad, however equity in disclosure is not an unreasonable standard. An appropriate retort by the governor or the governor’s defenders would be: “If the legislature determines that greater disclosure is warranted, let it pass legislation to require such disclosure for its own members and for other civil officers of the state, and I will sign it. What I won’t do is be held to a higher standard than the legislature sets for itself.”

On the other hand perhaps , like the state legislators, he’s just turning out the lights to keep the public in the dark about the pecuniary interests that influence his deliberations and actions. If voters are incensed about this, they should look for candidates who will commit to the level of disclosure they deem needful. In the end, people get the quality of government they deserve, especially in a polity which delivers the choice of civil magistrates into their hands.

Well, yes.