24 February, 2013

Where the Republican Reformers Are, and Aren't - NYTimes.com

Where the Republican Reformers Are, and Aren't - NYTimes.com: The idea that government should run like a business or a household has led Republicans dangerously astray at the federal level, but this actually isn’t a terrible frame for thinking about states. A highway department is a lot more like a business than Social Security is. Although the federal government mostly moves money around, states and localities have lots of employees and direct operations, so greater efficiency really can go a long way. And state budgets really do need to be (more or less) balanced annually.

Republicans have also been more likely than Democrats to recognize that public employee benefits structures are outdated and needlessly costly, and that collective bargaining in the public sector lets unions sit on both sides of the negotiating table. The split isn’t totally partisan … But in general, Republicans have been more willing than Democrats to look for ways to provide government services more cheaply and efficiently, including by cutting the employee compensation costs that make up about half of state and local spending.