Ethics starts inside: State officials know what’s right — that’s where to begin

The rules have been changed, and now the North Carolina General Assembly is headed along the road of good ethics, sound management and honorable dealings, right?

Well, maybe.

New House Speaker Joe Hackney has set up a whole new set of guidelines for representatives concerning House procedures and some issues that might come up during their service.

And some are worried, saying the new rules — and other ethics issues raised in the wake of the Jim Black scandal — actually can be a bit confusing.

The point is that rules are fine — and so is talk about ethics and what’s right and what’s wrong when it comes to dealing with lobbyists, legislation and the public’s business.

The problem is — talk is just that, talk.

There are plenty of politicians spouting ethics diatribe these days — and then doing something completely different in their own lives.

And they seem not really to be sorry or bothered by their transgressions until they are caught. Not much of a surprise there.

Ethics rules are fine for when we do catch them, but without a commitment from the legislators who serve this state and nation, regulations are nothing but words on paper.

With all the news of this transgression and that questionable dealing, it gets hard to trust anybody to do what is right. Will the new rules make a difference in North Carolina? We will just have to wait and see.

Published in Editorials on March 9, 2007 11:01 AM