Last week the Open Knowledge Foundation launched a prototype version of 'Where Does My Money Go', an excellent project to illustrate UK public spending (from 2003-04 to date) through a graphic visualisation. Find it here ...... www.wheredoesmymoneygo.org/prototype/
If anyone's seen the Guardian's annual 'Public Spending' posters
they'll know what to expect, but the website (see graphic above) goes much further, not only breaking down Government spending by 'stream' (education, social
protection, etc), allowing the user to click through on each stream to reveal
more detail about that particular area of spending, but also by region, allowing users to see how much public money is spent in their area.
Cuts in public spending are going to define the next five years of Government, who ever wins the next election, so its more important than ever that voters understand what the UK Government spends their money on, just how much of their money it spends on those things, and exactly where it spends their money. Knowledge is power after all.
The website is still a prototype, so feel free to leave a
comment (you'll find the button to do so on the bottom left of the page) about how you feel it can be made better. Or alternatively leave a comment below here, and I'll pass them on. Here's the address again.
www.wheredoesmymoneygo.org/prototype/