Thomas at Blue Indiana has a post that illustrates the fundamental flaw of having governmental leaders who don’t believe government can do its job competently. I think there is a place for small government zealotry in the legislative branch where policymaking ought to occur. I’m having my doubts about that in the executive branch which is not supposed to question the policy, merely to execute it. I’ve seen this in the Bush administration which seems to perform poorly at every effort it makes to govern. The Daniels administration hasn’t been anything like the debacle of the Bush administration, but you see hints of it in Mitch Roob’s self-loathing at FSSA.
There is definitely an important distinction to be drawn between competence and efficiency. You know me as one of the ardent limited government proponents. I believe that most things can be done more efficiently in the private sector rather than public. But those few things that government can do more efficiently- and importantly, fairly- it MUST be done competently. Today’s obvious example on the national scene is Iraq. The obvious example statewide is the process of paying for government via property taxes/assessments/etc.
There will always be some level of tension within a government office, where the beliefs of the people doing the jobs and managing the department may not necessarily be in line with the elected officials that write laws that direct the departments and fund them. It goes both ways: When the statehouse or executive branch wants to shrink the functions of a department, but the workers and directors believe it should be expanded. Or, when the elected officials want to expand the duties, but the workers and directors believe it overreaching.
It is not easy to reconcile. I can tell you from personal experience, having worked in a government office as a permit inspector. There were job sites I was directed to shut down, that I did not believe warranted shutting down. I was alternately directed to turn a blind eye at sites I believed should have been shut down. The employee has to decide: “Do I want to be fired today?”
In the case of a director or other manager, I frequently heard them express resentment of the micromanagement of the elected officials. They believed they were hired to manage, which entails some degree of independent thinking and decisive action.
It has a lot to do with the personalities in the executive branch and the elected lawmakers. Will they want automatons for managers and workers? Will they give wide berth for autonomy? Generally, it falls somewhere inbetween, of course.
I felt that it was very difficult to act competently, and to be respected as competent by the public, when being micromanaged- because the political directives I received rarely had anything to do with technical performance. They were purely political.
In the end, I’m still very happy with the executive branch questioning policy. That’s why vetoes exist for Presidents, for example. But once the matter is settled, the job should be executed earnestly and competently. I would expect anyone with any degree of personal pride to do just that.
I agree, Mike. There is also a need for elected officials at all levels to understand what the appropriate breadth of policy is for that level. What I mean is, it doesn’t really matter what a mayor, city councilperson, county auditor, etc., thinks about international affairs, for instance. However, I do care what a mayor thinks about local taxes, which city services are priorities, and so on. I do care what a County Commissioner thinks about these same things. These are policies, but they are policy issues relevant to that unit of government.
Hmmm- toxic waste dumping in lake michigan by BP/Amoco.
VX infesting Newport- barely guarded WMD’s.
no bid contracts at the Indiana State developmental center- now vacant- owned by IPFW
Food stamp denial.
some rube said we shoud cut off infants, widows, children, and the unemployable from food stamps and welfare to balance the budget.
state wide conspiracy or coincidence- 25% across the board tax increases for property tax assessments, but nearly nothing for businesses/commercial enterprises.
Aryan brotherhood at the DOC- endangering guards, and non-violent offenders just serving their sentences.
Thousands of baby rapers running loose on parole/probation statewide.
Rampant Animal sex perverts- new state law needed to criminalize the sheep- fsckers.
Dogfighting, cockfighting
Gangs on the rise in the hoosier state, due to lack of gainful/meaningful employment.
mass exodus to other states.
It may be “My Man Mitches first term, but he has a lot of screwups to atone for-poor guy- I’d jhat to be him. The only worse governor is Jim Gibbons of Nevada. We’re# 49!!! (dubious distinction) or is that “W”bious?(bush)
giggle!
Huh. I thought Governor Combover was 49th ahead of Ernie Fletcher…