Tough Economic Times Call for Values-Based Decisions
by Tim McFeeley, Chief Executive Officer
The economic recession, greatly exacerbated by the war against terrorism, has left our state
governments seriously short of funds. For the first time in a
decade, nearly every state government faces rising
deficits, shrinking revenues, and increased demands for
services as the ranks of unemployed workers, homeless
families, and people without health coverage swell.
How we deal with these difficult problems says
a lot about who we are as a society. Public policy choices are not always active – it’s not always
a matter of supporting or opposing a bill. Choosing
not to initiate, or even talk about, policies like
extending unemployment insurance coverage to
part-time workers is nonetheless a public policy decision.
How are these tough public policy decisions
being made? Often ideology is the touchstone. For
example, ideological conservatives argue that the primacy
of the free market system is more important than
critical human needs. In other cases, decisions about
public policy hinge on the latest polling data. Too
many policymakers favor the policy du jour,
without considering the wisdom of that policy or the ways
in which public opinion may have been influenced. Taking a strict ideological approach, or a soft
public opinion approach, to policymaking is simplistic
and requires little critical thinking.
For more than two decades, CPA has worked closely with thoughtful and courageous legislators
of both political parties who make tough public
policy decisions on the basis of values.
Values-based decisions require a good measure of
introspection, dialogue and analysis. Public policy choices are
rarely about good and evil, as some ideologues would
have us believe, or about picking the popular favorite,
as many politicians would assert. Almost always,
these decisions are about values, priorities, and
core principles of how we as a society treat our
fellow citizens.
I recently attended the first retreat for this
year’s Flemming Fellows Leadership Institute. The
state legislators in this Flemming class included
women and men, Republicans, Democrats and an
Independent, folks of various ages, from diverse racial
and ethnic backgrounds, and from every region from Hawaii to Maine. These citizen-legislators offer
a vision of a nation that examines the "general
welfare" from the viewpoint of values, rather than ideology
or popularity. It’s a vision worth sharing.
