Public loses if board dies
Wednesday, May 31st, 2006
By Chris Fitzsimon
Rob Christensen, Staff Writer
Question: What kind of lunatic would run an $18.8 billion-a-year corporation with virtually no planning, no goals and no way to measure success?
Answer: Your North Carolina state government.
The way state government operates would make the hair stand up on the back of the necks of executives at SAS, IBM or GlaxoSmithKline. Decisions that drive state government are often made by the seat of the pants.
Former Texas oilman Walter Davis whispers in Senate leader Marc Basnight’s ear. Basnight likes the idea. Poof. We have a $3.1 billion higher education bond referendum, the largest of its type in American history.
Spending priorities are often decided in back-room negotiations, or in campaign back shops on the basis of polling data.
State government, of course, is not a business. The political process is messy — always has been, always will be.
But that doesn’t mean there can’t be some modest effort to plan and evaluate how the business of state government is doing.
In fact, one already exists. It’s called the North Carolina Progress Board, and it was launched by Gov. Jim Hunt in 1995. The board was part of a national movement to make government more accountable. (more…)
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