Let's face it. Both parties need new ideas.
Take the Republicans. For years, the Grand Old Party has argued that government should be run more 'like a business' to increase government program efficiencies and to end waste, fraud and corruption. Politicians for national, state and local officials repeat the mantra 'we need business ideas' to make government work better and to ensure taxpayer dollars are not being wasted. But, ask yourself, what kind of business processes have they adapted to government and what results have occurred? Not too many. The problem is that too many GOP activists and officials are still reminding people of the glories of America during the Reagan years and are not realistically looking for contemporary solutions. Only a few in the Republican leadership, including especially former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, are thoughtfully attempting to insert new solutions into Republican thinking.
Of course, Democrats are not doing much better. And the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is an egregious example of this lack of new ideas. At its core, it's a program that uses government to bypass basic economic realities to bring health care to millions. But because government does not have incentives to get results or ensure that programs really work, everything from the complexity of the law, the website, the interaction between federal and local healthcare exchanges, and the skyrocketing costs (with more expensive policies and less health benefits for many) is now an albatross. Yes, some Democrats like former New York Lt. Governor Richard Ravitch and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker have raised issues to bring sanity and performance to government. California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom has spent real time talking and writing about future ideas to deliver on the historical democratic ideal of using government to solve problems at a reasonable cost. Continue>>>
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