A Blue Ribbon Punt
When I hear the words “Blue Ribbon Study Commission,” I automatically think: Another politician is punting.
That’s exactly what happened in
Problem is, the “Blue-Ribbon Committee on the Future of
The News & Observer summed it up this way in a story headlined “Blue ribbon panel stumbles at finish line:”
“Months of wrestling with
“A task force of 65 business and community leaders met for two hours Monday to put the final touches on a report on how to handle the hundreds of thousands of residents expected to arrive by 2030.
“But after six months, they still couldn’t resolve a central debate over taxes.”
I don’t fault the 65 community big-shots who were appointed to the blue ribbon committee. They were given an impossible job.
Their assignment: Figure out a way to pay for the billions of dollars on everybody’s wish list for schools, parks, roads, water, sewer, jails, libraries, workforce training and open space. And, while you’re at it, make the solution popular with every segment of society.
Sorry,
You’re going to have to do it yourselves. You’re going to have to figure out what we really have to have. You’re going to have to decide how we’re going to pay for it. And you’re going to have to sell the solution to the public.
You tried punting. But the only real effect that had is to mobilize the opponents of doing anything anytime anywhere. Like John Hood and the John Locke Foundation.
Now the going gets really tough. And you’ve got the ball.
A Blue Ribbon Punt
When I hear the words “Blue Ribbon Study Commission,” I automatically think: Another politician is punting.
That’s exactly what happened in
Problem is, the “Blue-Ribbon Committee on the Future of
The News & Observer summed it up this way in a story headlined “Blue ribbon panel stumbles at finish line:”
“Months of wrestling with
“A task force of 65 business and community leaders met for two hours Monday to put the final touches on a report on how to handle the hundreds of thousands of residents expected to arrive by 2030.
“But after six months, they still couldn’t resolve a central debate over taxes.”
I don’t fault the 65 community big-shots who were appointed to the blue ribbon committee. They were given an impossible job.
Their assignment: Figure out a way to pay for the billions of dollars on everybody’s wish list for schools, parks, roads, water, sewer, jails, libraries, workforce training and open space. And, while you’re at it, make the solution popular with every segment of society.
Sorry,
You’re going to have to do it yourselves. You’re going to have to figure out what we really have to have. You’re going to have to decide how we’re going to pay for it. And you’re going to have to sell the solution to the public.
You tried punting. But the only real effect that had is to mobilize the opponents of doing anything anytime anywhere. Like John Hood and the John Locke Foundation.
Now the going gets really tough. And you’ve got the ball.