MOSS MESSAGE
Special Delivery
We've got a lot of government. In Lansing, in Washington, at all local
levels, we have government structures. Cities, Townships, counties,
school districts, state agencies and departments are all over the place,
doing stuff and needing revenue to pay for it. Where did they all come
from? Well, they weren't created by God. People constructed these
organizations for a purpose: to deliver things to the citizens
These systems and organizations didn't come down from the Mount with
Moses; there's nothing sacred about the current structures or status quo
of any of them. These government organizations are delivery systems,
pure and simple! That's it! Beginning and end! They're taxpayer-funded
systems to deliver a public good. So when we talk about government, the
starting point is basic: it's a system to deliver something. What is
that something? Once you answer that, you have the key and can move
right along.
Is
the Delivery System...DELIVERING?
Is Department X delivering that something? How well? At what cost? How
do you measure performance? Remember, government systems are public
servants, and paid for by tax revenue from the people. Are the people
getting their money's worth? Are they getting that service at all, and
at a price they can afford? Could the delivery system do a better job of
delivery? Could a different delivery system do an even better job?
For an example, let's look at the Detroit K-12 schools. The Detroit
Public School organization is a delivery system for basic education to
Detroit kids. How well does it deliver that public good? How much does
it cost to deliver what it does deliver?
DPS certainly costs a lot. Hundreds of millions of dollars flow into
DPS. However, the academic test score measurements of DPS are anemic.
The number of kids who drop out every year without even getting a paper
credential is staggering. So how well is the delivery system "DPS" doing
it's job of delivering education? You tell me.
What Does it Deliver?
So what does it deliver? Fifteen years ago, when the State of Michigan
took over DPS, it installed Wayne State University David Adamany as
boss. In 1998 I heard Adamany speak about DPS, and he said he found the
school system had been run for the benefit of the employee unions, the
vendors, and the politicians. The vendors and unions bankrolled and
elected the politicos, who funneled school revenue via contracts back to
the vendors and unions. Delivering wealth to the system participants had
become job one, education had become a byproduct. That was back then.
Now…?
Is your government delivery system run today by and for the benefit of
the employees and elected officials? Is the system mainly serving the
folks running the system, instead of delivering the service? Do your
public servants rake off so much in overhead that there's little left
over to actually provide the service? Is the delivery system constantly
crying for more cash to deliver a product that doesn't really improve or
maybe even declines? And here's the real kicker: can a different
delivery system do a better job?
Ask these questions, and pay attention to the response. If you hear
roars of outrage, tragic alibis, name calling, organized political
reaction and lobbying, and of course, the reliable old charge of
"racism," you'll know you're on to something. Long ago I learned "if
someone's offended by your very question, you've asked the right
question."
Michigan's flat out of spare wealth to just pour into government. We
have to look hard at all our public service delivery systems, and ask
the obvious questions: what are you supposed to deliver and how well are
you delivering it? Can someone else deliver it better, faster, cheaper?
Because here's the deal: if the current government delivery systems
weren't handed down from Heaven, it shouldn't take an Act of God to make
them change.
August 22, 2010
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