Off The Beat: Why Are Honolulu Officials Accepting Junkets?
02/10/2012
Flickr: eazy traveler
It's to Mayor Peter Carlisle's credit that his administration consulted the Honolulu Ethics Commission about whether a gift could be used in part to pay for his wife to accompany him on a foreign trip.
But the formal process of going through the Ethics Commission, and its response, misses a larger question raised by the $16,500 gift from the Tapei Economic and Cultural Office in Honolulu, the Chengdu and Quinhuangdao Municipal People's Government, and the Shenzhen Delicate Furniture Company.
If a trip is really worth the time of the mayor and other top officials, why doesn't the city just pay for it itself?
We're not a banana republic.
The government, company or individual who invites someone on a trip by virtue of the payment has more say over the agenda or itinerary than the traveler.
As strange as it may sound, government officials might benefit by following journalistic practices when it comes to junkets.
The New York Times policy on ethics in journalism states the importance of "avoiding conflicts of interest or any appearance of conflict."
Under the heading, "Paying Our Own Way," the policy says: "When we as journalists entertain news sources (including government officials) or travel to cover them, our company pays the expenses."
What a novel concept!
