September 28, 2006
Is Productivity the Alternative to Increased Investment?
Government can be more productive, some say. Wring out the inefficiencies, and we can fund more education, more healthcare and more transportation without raising taxes. Or hold the line while spending less.
But often what we see as inefficiency is actually democracy at work. One man's meat is another man's pork. One community's essential project is another's waste. Working out these differences in a changing world is the business of government.
In recent issues of the Minnesota Journal, Joel and the Citizens League's Sean Kershaw take up different aspects of the productivity question.
Sean maintains it's more productive to focus first on "institutional innovations," rather than investing more in current institutions that have delivered questionable returns. [See his "The need for new and renewed institutions" viewpoint article here.]
In "More investment and a more productive government," Joel responds that we can talk about investing more in education, health and infrastructure – and having a more productive government. Throw in raising the money fairly, and that's the essence of the Growth & Justice Invest for Real Prosperity strategy.
Questions for Discussion.
Is it time to declare the anti-tax forces victorious and move on?
Or can we still have productive dialogue about how much government Minnesotans really want, and who will pay for it?
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
