So, what’s the solution to bad government? More government! DeKalb’s Interim CEO, Lee May, recently created a new full time position: Chief Integrity Officer. The word ironic comes to mind but doesn’t really do justice to the situation.

The problems demonstrated by DeKalb’s officials won’t be solved by an ethics board or an integrity officer. You know what solves ethical problems? Elected officials and government workers with ethics. DeKalb’s real and perceived problems will only be resolved with new leadership. Spending more money on faux ethics and integrity is simply just spending more of the people’s money. It doesn’t ensure or purchase ethics or good government. In fact, in addition to increasing the cost of government, it creates more opportunities for corruption. It increases cynicism. So in the style of Ben Franklin: A government that lacks ethics and public confidence to the point it creates a position to implement integrity, is likely to have neither.