Well, the 4th Annual Rising Tide Conference has apparently concluded. I was only able to stay until about 2pm, but that was enough to hear two panels, one special presentation, and the keynote talk from Harry Shearer. Also enough time to enjoy the breakfast and the yummy white beans and shrimp lunch provided by Cafe Reconcile.
Still have to think and process what I did get to hear, but I will post some comments up sometime over the next few days if my thoughts congeal sufficiently.
For those who may be interested in reading an excellent liveblogging transcript of the day, check out Maitri's VatulBlog. I think this year's conference was very well organized and the panels very engaging. I don't have official attendance figures, but my sense is that we had probably 25-30% more attendees this year than last year.
My favorite comment from this year goes to political cartoonist John Slade. Slade, who admitted to having voted for Ray Nagin 7 years ago, in part, because of the appeal of Nagin's reformist claim to "run City Hall like a business," commented that, after having seen how Nagin actually ended up running the city, voters should just walk away from any candidate whose platform rests on their business experience and on claims to clean up government by bringing private sector experience to the table. Slade said something to the effect that business should do what they are good at and create jobs for the young folks in this city and to just shut the hell up when it comes to politics and government, because government and public service are not businesses. And I think Slade is so right on: the business model, with its over-reliance on hierarchy, loyalty, private profit over any notion of the public good that is at odds with private profit, and an utter lack of transparency (and an arrogant dismissiveness towards any citizen who expects and demands such transparency), is just so far removed from any conceptualization of democratic governance so as to render it counterproductive, if not harmful, to democratic governance.
Anyway, if I have more to add later, I will. And if I can find any video or audio of the event, I'll link to it.
"voters should just walk away from any candidate whose platform rests on their business experience and on claims to clean up government by bringing private sector experience to the table."
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't think business experience is an automatic disqualifier, I tend to agree that people can give it too much credence in the world of poitics. It really depends on what one's function in the business world was, and how they plan to apply that to a public setting. The government could use a lot more business efficiency experts in its ranks,and a lot fewer marketing reps.
On the other hand, I'd have a hard time trusting the judgment of somebody who's entire work history had been in the public sector. Carreer politicians are a little too close to 'royalty' in my book.
I do think any politician who wants to run for office should be forced to sit down with a businessperson and/or their accountant and witness first hand the absurdity of our business tax structure. If I could have the part of my brain back that is dedicated to untangling my company's tax obligations, I could have solved the healthcare problem by now.
Eric - Sure, there's an appropriate synergy between the private sector and public life/government; but they're not the same and it is folly to think the messiness of governing can somehow be overcome by the application of a well-honed business model. Ray Nagin has been an unmitigated disaster for New Orleans. He has his strengths, but his failures as a governing leader can be traced almost directly back to his business-minded attitudes. He forgets that his "shareholders" are all of us, and not just that sliver of us who buy into his vision.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if you've started the book yet for our reading club, The Citizen Solution, but the author starts off the book by making a good point about the problems of the "technocratization" of our governing elites and what that has done to the private citizen's attitudes towards public service and public life. I think you'll find something appealing to your convictions regarding the primacy of the local and the utility of the common citizen experience in what I think serves as the premise for this book's main thrust. By the way, I've asked martinhale if he'd like to join the group, and he's considering it. I think he'd be great (and he knows you, as P_F, are a part of it). Maybe you can try to nudge him to join, too.
The problem is when you say "business-minded attitudes" you are covering an awful lot of territory. There is a "business minded attitude" that is concerned with growth, profits, and allocation of resources in a manner that would not translate well to public service. On the other hand, there are "business minded attitudes" that revolve around efficient systems engineering and merit-based incentivation in ways that can help. For instance, Statistical Process Control, as developed by W. Edwards Deming for manufacturing plants, boosts efficiency, quality, and productivity in whatever environment you care to introduce it to, and government is no exception. Likewise, the simple fact that most businessmen are used to dealing with accrual basis accounting gives them a better frame of reference for "big picture" financial planning than government bureaucrats who often balance the books on a cash basis.
ReplyDeleteYou can't (and shouldn't) run government on a business model, but many of the concepts that help businesses to run more efficiently can (and in some cases already do) translate to government.
I ordered 'The Citizen Solution' last week, but it has not arrived yet. I am looking forward to reading it. I'd love it if martinhale joined our reading group!
You can't (and shouldn't) run government on a business model, but many of the concepts that help businesses to run more efficiently can (and in some cases already do) translate to government.
ReplyDeleteEric - Agreed. I wonder, though, if you would accept that the converse is true as well. In other words, concepts that apply to government to help it manage diverse constituencies in a democracy can be relevant for success in the management of private sector work, too.
"I wonder, though, if you would accept that the converse is true as well."
ReplyDeleteSure. In fact, a lot of really large corporations function very much like the government (with the main exception being, when times get hard, the corporations shed expenses). My business exists in part because IBM's internal bureaucracy makes it a pain in the rear for their resellers to do a few very simple things. My business offers them a simple way to do these things without having to go through the IBM channels.
We have a saying: "The simplest way to explain the behavior of any bureaucratic organization is to assume that it is controlled by a cabal of its enemies." I don't remember who came up with that quote anymore, but I expect government employees would find it every bit as poignant as IBM'ers do!