Our system of government was wisely designed as a democratic republic — democratic in that most offices that have any measure of authority over our lives are filled, directly or indirectly, through democratic means and republican in that constitutions determine the scope of that authority, mindful of the necessity that different parts and levels of government should provide checks and balances to each other.

In some instances, the federal government collects tax revenue and disperses it to state governments with instructions for how the funding should serve public needs.

For this system to work, officials need to respect the limitations on their own offices and the role of other offices.

Last Wednesday’s edition of the Sun-Gazette reported on the concerns of a federal legislator, U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Howard, that Gov. Josh Shapiro’s government has been less than diligent in providing oversight of federal funding for food assistance.

We respect Thompson’s concerns — with a national debt of $37 trillion, we would hope every elected officials would recognize the need to be frugal and exacting on how our tax dollars are spent. And, as we noted to begin this editorial, it is vital for the effectiveness of our system that local, state and federal government respect their interconnected roles.

We also, as we have repeatedly noted, have concerns that under Shapiro our state government has lacked the transparency that allows Pennsylvanians — both other elected officials and, more importantly, constituents — to assess the state government’s performance.

We hope state agencies and offices buck this unfortunate trend, thoroughly address Thompson’s concerns with the relevant data and with open-mindedness about how the state can improve administration of assistance programs.