|
Well,
the General Assembly has gone home. Many delegates
now face re-election campaigns, and some have
primary challenges. Of course, our state senators
can relax because the Constitution protects them
from regular citizen review by holding elections
for all 40 every four years rather than staggering
terms so that half face the voters every two
years. But that is an issue for another day.
I
have just finished reading a nifty book from a
long-time advocate of better government. David
Osborne, author of “Reinventing Government,”
wrote a new and very exciting book last year. It
is called, “The Price of Government.”
While
state and local governments continue to grow and
new taxes are always being talked about (sometimes
only whispered about in election season though
never far from the minds of some), there is a
great need for an open and honest discussion on
how to make our state and local governments run
more efficiently, with more accountability, and in
a more transparent fashion. Gov. Mark R. Warner
and many localities, such as Prince William
County, have taken important steps to overhaul
government over the past few years. And all
politically interested citizens look to
Richmond’s new mayor, former Gov. L. Douglas
Wilder, to dramatic changes in the way that city
is managed.
David
Osborne's book gives a practical outline of what
can and must be done if government is to continue
providing those services most important to the
voters. “The Price of Government”
should be required reading by political, business
and community leaders who profess to want a more
efficient government.
Osborne
clearly outlines the problems facing government: Taxes
rarely satisfy the “needs” of government and
the recent recession cut the growth of tax
revenues; tax increases can encourage companies
and individuals to move out of the state or
county/city since the digital economy allows this
movement to be accomplished much easier than in
the past; 60 percent of our economy is now in the
service industry and aren’t, in most cases,
taxed; and the aging population is bringing huge
pressures on health care and retirement funding.
The
typical reaction by government to a “fiscal
crisis” is to do the least it can do until the
problem passes, or to raise taxes. Taking a
serious look at government programs, why they
exist and how they are managed, is rarely the
direction governments take. But Osborne makes a
strong case that the days of minimum government
reaction and turning to taxes when more is needed
in critical programs are over. A new management
paradigm is needed and this book outlines it for
anyone who reads is.
Some
of the ideas that Osborne brings center stage in
his book should be a central focus of the next
Governor and the next General Assembly. Business
leaders and community leaders should promote these
management ideas and encourage our elected leaders
to pursue them aggressively.
Let’s
take a look at just a few of the ideas in this
impressive book.
-
Establish
an on-going review process,to weed out
programs not central to the core purposes of
government.
-
Consolidate
funding
streams and work contracted to “outside”
groups by ensuring that agencies responsible
for programs maintain management control.
-
Rightsize,
recognizing that some
organizations can be reduced in size and do as
good or a better job, while others cannot.
-
Adopt
performance targets and reward outstanding
efforts to meet those targets.
-
Simply
rules
-
Establish
public-private partnerships
-
Make
it easier to comply with rules and
regulations, create incentives for those who
do comply and tough penalties on those who
don't.
Then,
Osborne makes this dramatic statement: “The
fastest way to save money and increase value is to
force public institutions to compete.
"Monopolies are bad, so government should
compete with the private and non-profit sectors
for the delivery of services.
The
Price of Government goes
on and on with practical ideas bolstered by
examples of where they have been put into practice
here in America or overseas. The point is clear
throughout: Government has not changed with the
times; government is still “stuck” in the old
command and control framework; government must
change if the taxpayers are to receive their
expectations at a price they are willing to pay.
So
while elected officials are wondering what to talk
about at their next Rotary or Kiwanis club meeting,
if they are “stuck” without new ideas they can
“sell” to the voters in their areas, if they
want to become leaders in transforming state and
local government into a more reasonable, cost
effective and modern structure, then they should
go down to their local bookstore and pick up a
copy of Davis Osborne’s “The Price of
Government.” And frankly, every business
leader who wants government to be more
business-like it they way it delivers services and
manages its staff should read this book and tell
their elected officials to do the same.
--
April 25, 2005
|
