|
Tranparency
in Commonwealth government operations and "truthiness"
in the General Assembly's discussion of Virginia
transportation are among the keys to understanding
the first public comments on state government in the
New Year. More of the first and less of the second
could make a nice resolution for Virginia government
to function a lot better in 2007.
Just
before the December holidays, for example,
Merriam-Webster announced that "truthiness"
had won its first "Word of the Year"
online survey. In the time-honored fashion of
dictionaries, it acknowledged two specific
definitions for the noun. 1 : "truth that comes
from the gut, not books" (Stephen Colbert,
Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report,"
October 2005) 2 : "the quality of preferring
concepts or facts one wishes to be true, rather than
concepts or facts known to be true" (American
Dialect Society, January 2006).
"We're
at a point where what constitutes truth is a
question on a lot of people's minds, and truth has
become up for grabs," Merriam-Webster president
John Morse told the media in making the
announcement. "'Truthiness' is a playful way
for us to think about a very important
issue."
Playfulness
is indeed what Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert
keeps bringing to his weeknight parody of an
in-your-face, conservative talk show. "Though
I'm no fan of reference books and their fact-based
agendas, I am a fan of anyone who chooses to honor
me," Colbert crowed in an e-mail to the media
in response to the Merriam-Webster news.
Colbert's
own truthiness would probably have him characterize
Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine as a "factinista,"
one who is determined to proceed with due regard for
the facts. Among his initiatives in the first week
of the New Year, for example, Gov. Kaine launched www.VaPerforms.virginia.gov.
an interactive website that will allow Virginians to
review objectives and performance of state agencies
and institutions.
"This
transparency provides our citizens with useful
information and encourages our state agencies to
remain focused on measurable results," Gov.
Kaine said in making the announcement. "It
should reassure Virginians that their taxpayer
dollars are being spent wisely by allowing them to
see challenges at a regional level, learn which
state agencies are working to address those
challenges, and then see data on how well these
agencies are performing."
Data
also can be used to compare Virginia to other states
and national averages. Under the initiative, for
example, the Department Alcoholic Beverage Control
reports on how it is enhancing the underage buyer
compliance rate and increasing the profits and taxes
it generates for state and local governments will be
online. Virginians will be able to see the progress
on Department of Corrections objectives, such as
reducing the percentage of supervised probation and
parole cases revoked, ensuring that there are no
escapes from confinement and making its therapeutic
community treatment program so effective that the
recidivism rate falls to 15 percent or below. Dozens
of agencies and departments are involved.
Gov.
Kaine also announced before a coalition of business
groups in Northern Virginia a comprehensive
transportation initiative that proposes to link land
use decisions to transportation, increases
accountability for transportation agencies and
suggests new, dedicated, sustainable transportation
funding. One proposal would give local governments
the power to deny rezoning requests if
transportation capacity cannot support traffic
increases that would be generated. Another would ask
a special citizens commission to develop the most
appropriate performance standards for transportation
agencies (90 percent "On Time, On Budget"
is great work, but not completely comprehensive). A
third would apply $850 million more dollars annually
to the growing construction, maintenance, rail and
mass transit needs of the state. A fourth asks
Senate and House to reconcile differences and pass a
constitutional amendment locking up the
Transportation Trust Fund.
"Virginia's
transportation needs are driven by our enviable
successes in creating jobs, attracting residents and
growing our economy," Gov. Kaine told
applauding representatives of 22 different business
groups. "I want Virginia to succeed and while
that starts with better land use decisions and more
accountability, it also requires new transportation
dollars for the Port of Virginia, Dulles Airport and
our fast-growing communities."
Regrettably.
the truthiness of some members of the General
Assembly wasn't far behind as House Republican
leaders chose to blame the state transportation
budget shortfalls instead on local governments
"for approving too many new developments"
and to deny the need for new, sustainable revenues
dedicated to transportation. The majority then
issued talking points for its members, such as
"House Republicans have and will continue to
advance critical structural and organizational
reforms and performance measures relevant to people
stuck in traffic in order to increase the
effectiveness and accountability that the citizens
of Virginia demand from their government in
delivering transportation services."
"The
Governor needs to relent on his repeated insistence
for a statewide tax increase and step up and put
forward a real, workable solution if he truly wants
to accomplish progress," the talking points
continue, and "the Governor is encouraging more
expensive roads to burden the state coffers."
What
Stephen Colbert terms the "wordinistas"
probably could have a field day untangling such
convoluted strings of prepositional phrases, but
Colbert also might welcome some new examples of the
squishiness that makes truthiness such an important
part of his humor. Then, as the lines are drawn more
clearly between those Assembly members who actually
will stand and deliver on real land use reform,
accountability and transportation revenue questions
and those who don't, a certain "justiness"
will emerge in time for Virginia's November 2007
elections. And the results should be real "transparentish"
for everyone to see.
--
January 8, 2007
|
