Waste, Fraud and Abuse in Government

Patrick McIlheran makes a point truly worth repeating (and repeating and repeating). It is a truth, however, most voters really do not want to hear (and few elected officials - even Conservatives - admit). I took the liberty of replacing "the county" with "government."

[T]he grim reality is that waste, fraud and abuse are not part of government only because of slackness -- but because waste, fraud and abuse are intrinsic to systems driven chiefly by political, as opposed to economic, considerations. One can and should lessen waste, fraud and abuse, but one cannot expect to ever purge them completely, not without expecting people to march outside your office carrying signs dubbing you Larry the Hatchet.

...[C]iting waste, fraud and abuse, a decent starting point, is never sufficient as a funding source. It isn’t here. [Government] needs to do one of several things: Truly rethink the scope of the services it provides and the ways in which they’re provided, or come up with new tax revenue.

Congratulations to Patrick McIlheran

H/T to Owen. I missed this (busy weekend). Apparently so did MJS (when one of your own is among six recognized journalists in the world, wouldn't you think some mention would be in order?).

London, 8 August 2006 – International Policy Network today announced the six finalists for the sixth annual Bastiat Prize for Journalism. The Prize – named in honour of the great 19th Century French philosopher and essayist Frédéric Bastiat – celebrates writers whose work cleverly and wittily promotes the institutions of the free society.

Commenting on the announcement, IPN Executive Director Julian Morris, said, “This year, we received over 280 submissions from writers in more than 60 countries, the overwhelming majority of them very high calibre.

The final decision is now in the hands of our eminent panel of judges, which comprises two former winners, Brian Carney (Wall Street Journal) and Amity Shlaes (syndicated Bloomberg columnist), two world-renowned economists, Professors Bibek Debroy and Wolfgang Kasper, and the Chief Judge of the DC Court of Appeals, Douglas Ginsburg. We look forward to announcing this year’s winners at the Bastiat Prize dinner on October 24th.”

The 2007 finalists (in alphabetical order followed by the publication(s) in which their entries appeared):

* Clive Crook, The Atlantic Monthly, USA; National Journal, USA

* Jonah Goldberg, LA Times, USA; Orlando Sentinel/syndicated, USA; National Review, USA

* A. Barton Hinkle, Richmond Times-Dispatch, USA

* Dominic Lawson, The Independent, UK

* Patrick McIlheran, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, USA

* Amit Varma, Mint, India

The winners will be announced at the Bastiat Prize Dinner in New York on 24th October 2007. The first prize winner will receive US$10,000 and an engraved candlestick. Second and third prize winners will receive $4000 and $1000 respectively, as well as an engraved candlestick.

The Bastiat Prize was first awarded in 2002 and judges have included Lady Thatcher and Nobel-Prize-winners James Buchanan and Milton Friedman.

How to Control Health Care Costs: Allow Consumers to Make Choices

Patrick McIlheran provides an outstanding example of how health care prices drop when consumers make choices.

Only Some Kids Deserve a Great Education

From Patrick McIlheran's column:

Gov. Jim Doyle says he's mystified about why the Assembly is offering school choice in Racine.

I am mystified about why state government is not offering school choice to all children.

Apparently, kids in Wisconsin are not very important. Apparently, every kid does not deserve a great school.

"Forward" used to be our motto. Perhaps we should change it to "neutral."

What Makes a Good Columnist - A Response to Capper from folkbum

In his comment about the preceding post about Patrick McIlheran, Capper from folkbums rattles and rants states:

Judging from his blog, most of his [McIlheran's] ideas come from other bloggers, Sykes, and Repub talking points.

I have seen this kind of comment about others' too many times. I have seen people criticize Owen and Sykes for simply shilling for the Republican Party. And yes, I have seen similar criticisms of Democrats.

Hogwash.

McIlheran is not paid to come up with novel approaches to the world. He is paid to provide commentary about the world as it is, and he does that articulately and interestingly. That makes him a good columnist. In my opinion, the fact that he does it from a conservative perspective makes him intriguing. That is the same reason liberals do not like him. It has nothing to do with whether he has found some unlikely uniqueness.

I have rarely seen original ideas in blogs or the MSM (or, for that matter, anywhere else). People with truly original ideas are either getting rich, contributing to think tanks or in need of medication. They are not writing for newspapers or blogging. Capper, I have not seen much from you that is original (and I doubt you have found anything I have written to be particularly new, unique or unusual). Instead, if people read us, it is because they value our perspectives or like the way we present things. Usually, it is little more. Occasionally, one of us pulls out a gem that has not been reported elsewhere or that intrigues people because they have not heard it previously or not considered it. Only ego can lead us to believe we offer much else.

Einstein is considered by many to be the smartest man known to history. Yet, Einstein said:

You ask me if I keep a notebook to record my great ideas. I've only ever had one.

Most of us, not coming close to Einstein's intellect, should be relieved that Einstein only came up with one more great idea than we have.

Writers are not required to come up with great ideas. Instead, they are paid or valued as a result of the manner in which they present the ideas that interest them.

Which Would be Lonelier: Being a Chinese Basketball Player in Milwaukee or a Conservative Columnist at MJS?

As most of us know, Yi Jianlian, the Bucks first round draft pick, does not want to play in Milwaukee. Milwaukee has too few Chinese residents. While the NBA should not start to allow draft picks to dictate where they will play, and while some of his fears are misguided (Milwaukee basketball fans will love him if he his half as good as hoped), his personal feelings are understandable. Many people would be intimidated by moving to a place where virtually everyone looks different (and originates from a different culture, speaks a different language and worships differently). It might be lonely.

Being a Chinese basketball player in Milwaukee must be about as lonely as being a conservative columnist at The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Patrick McIlheran is about as out of place at MJS as Archbishop Dolan would be at Art's Performing Center. I often wonder if he is ostracized? Do people look at him as the company freak, or do they just pity him? When he writes columns like this, or this, do they argue with him, laugh at him or just ignore him? Will anyone eat lunch with him?

All I am certain of is that Milwaukee is lucky to have McIlheran, and the Bucks will be lucky to sign Yi.

Publicly Owned Land: How Much is Too Much?

I missed this article when it ran in MJS, but Patrick McIlheran asks a great question. Maybe you also missed it. More and more often, I think McIlheran asks some great questions (that probably puts his job in jeopardy at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

McIlheran notes that Rep. Jim Ott (R-Mequon) wants to publicize where the state's vast public lands are located, and what they can be used for. Fine. But I hope Ott will also start asking whether we need so much of it. I mention this even though I am an avid hunter, a group that thinks that government can never buy enough land.

One-eighth of the state? Ridiculous. Are there no limits? I forgot, government knows no limits. Enough is never enough.

$1.8 billion over the next 10 years. I guess all of the proponents for this program have concluded that we already have too much money for schools, roads and law enforcement.

UPDATE (May 2): To see the history and text of Ott's bill, click here.