My awareness started in the early 1980's with the California Initiative process when several propositions were placed on the ballots to reduce taxes and support for the school system. At the time California's educational system was viewed as the best in the nation, where is it today?
What confuses me about this movement is the same thing that confused me with the GW Bush approach. We want to lower taxes but expect to have all the same services, or do all the things we have historically done. How is that remotely possible? More efficiencies? Ya right! That mentality is why we are where we are.
We complain when the roads are in disrepair, we complain about the long lines at car registration, tax office, or any public service. We complain when the water system fails to meet our expectations. Yet we don't want our dollars to go to taxes?
I see the new generation of politicians promising to lower taxes, but I don't see anyone telling the tax payers what they should stop expecting from government. On one blog I follow, a public employee from a California city wrote in to say he was in the National Guard, a member of the NRA and made something that approached the median salary for his area. His job was grounds maintenance for the city parks. The commenters all slammed him for making close to the median salary for his two jobs (both in the city and national guard).
I recognize there is a point beyond which governments become for government and not for the people they serve. Perhaps we've reached that point, perhaps not. But with the convergence of a "Me" society and the desire not to pay for anything it will be interesting to see how this plays out.
2 comments:
Many people cheat and whine....it is true.
We all need to contribute.
Money may not be at the helm in the decline of California's schools...or hospitals...or family aid programs....
Much tax money is spent unwisely...more efficiency may not happen...but it isn't an unreasonable request.
Reality is a school master...perhaps personal responsibility will not always be an elective course...
The problem with efficiency is how to define it in education, government or public administration? If we want efficient schools than do we eliminate all administrative oversight, or do we move to 365 day school years? If we were to go back to the old time-motion studies we may be able to show how individual tasks can be done more efficiently, but how do you spread that to broad bureaucracies?
On the surface it is not an unreasonable request, but until we understand what we mean by the term how do we ever know if we've achieved it?
Post a Comment