ERMUSR MISC. ITEMS 10-15-2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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!............smaa We're Not in Kansas Anymore By Jim Miller ow that the Legislature has j include a significant financial commit- rather because it sensed that was adjourned, many of us are ment to funding programs at the state consistent with the majority opinion at reflecting not only on the impacts and local levels. General revenue the time. Likewise, while there may be of specific decisions, but also on sharing was born, for example, and individual instances to the contrary, I what this difficult session might cities across the country began to think the debate on local government portend for the future. Some receive significant funding to be used as aid was as much a manifestation of the believe it was an aberration and they saw fit. It was perhaps the heyday belief that the state's role should be that we will return to the good of local control; the president and more limited as it was balancing the old days as soon as the economy recovers. Congress recognized that priorities and ! budget. Others argue we are seeing a new and needs varied greatly, and they entrusted Assuming this supposition is correct, i fundamentally different relationship I local officials to match the federal and looking at the last century as a between government and its citizens— I finding with those needs. guide, it seems Likely it will be some a perspective I share. This philosophy spawned in the time before the country's values shift to Although most of us might hold out Roosevelt Administration, and expanded expect more involvement by govern- hope that the state will soon resume its by Presidents Johnson and Nixon, ment. That may come, but not as soon historical financial commitment to I dominated the political landscape until as recovery from the current recession. programs like local government aid and the presidency of Ronald Reagan. Congress and state legislators must first health insurance for low-income work- Besides what many saw as charisma, start again hearing that citizens indeed ers, I think that is unlikely. I believe the President Reagan was primarily elected value government services. Once that decisions made during this most recent I because of his espousal that government occurs, it will take some time for that session were the result of more than a was too big and inefficient and that it sentiment to be reflected in political lack of money; they were the manifes- should be streamlined and made more decisions. tation of a now dominant political ; efficient. Privatization and deregulation For local officials, this means they philosophy predicated on a value of began to have more and more currency. should assume they will be more more limited government. Moreover, In many respects, the roots that dictated dependent on their own resources and this more conservative philosophy the outcomes of the most recent legisla- creativity for the foreseeable future. It about the role of government is not rive session were planted at that time. will mean doing an even better job of limited exclusively to Minnesota. It can Perhaps, with the exception of the finding efficiencies and showing value be seen in state after state and at the "Clinton Cops" (community policing) for the more limited dollars expended. national level as well. program, that move to a more limited It will require engaging the public even During the last century, I think federal role at the state and local level more in discussions about where and there were three seminal shifts in the continues to this day. Simultaneously, how to allocate increasingly precious relationship between government and we have seen a similar evolution in the resources. its citizens. The first occurred with the political philosophy guiding state The real challenge before us is to New Deal presidency of Franklin legislatures. What we as local officials re-establish in the minds of our citizens Roosevelt, when this country agreed tend to see as a session-by-session debate an appreciation for the value of govern- for the first time that the government '.. over resources or local control is occur- went in their daily lives. That is the had a responsibility to help its citizens ring on this much larger stage of a first step if we, like Dorothy, are ever achieve at least a threshold standard dominant belief that less government to return to Kansas. of living through programs like Social is better. Security. This was a l80-degree shift It would be easy to blame this change from the up-to-then dominant belief on the `politicians." Likewise, we that government's role was generally ought be inclined to believe that they limited to national defense and a few are out of step with the mainstream of ' other, purely national, responsibilities. society, but I am not so sure. In reality, The second major shift occurred our representative system of government with the presidencies of Lyndon Johnson works relatively well, at least at the Jim Miller is executive director of the and Richard Nixon, when the federal macroscopic level. Congress did not League of Minnesota Cities. Phone: (651) ' government redefined federalism to undo revenue sharing out of spite, but 281-1205. E-mail:jrniller@lnrnc.org. J u r y 2 0 0 3 M I N N E S O T A C I T I E S 3