DENVER What youre doing isnt working, an influential University of Denver panel told state government leaders Monday.
Legislators tend to listen closely to advice from DU think tanks, even if they dont always follow it. Jim Griesemer, the panels leader, said his group is trying to offer a way out of the never-ending debate over whether government is too big or too small.
Government is stymied. Were having a debate that doesnt seem to be getting us anywhere. So lets step back and ask ourselves some fundamental questions about the purpose of government and what it should be doing, said Griesemer, chairman of the Strategic Issues Panel on State Government at DU.
The panel made up of 20 business and nonprofit leaders from across the political spectrum spent more than a year studying Colorados biggest problems.
The group came up with a mix of familiar and new recommendations.
It calls for a repeal of Amendment 23, which tried to guarantee minimum funding levels for public schools, and a repeal of most parts of the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, which restricts how much the government can spend. The panel would preserve TABORs requirement that citizens approve tax increases before they take effect.
Both constitutional amendments make it difficult for the Legislature to respond to changes in the economy.
If one were trying to design a state financial system to be as rigid and nonresponsive as possible, Colorado might be the model, the report said.
Conservatives should find plenty to like in the report, with its heavy focus on introducing competition and market forces into government services.
Instead of making payments directly to colleges and K-12 schools, the panel thinks the government should provide stipends to students, who would carry the funding to the schools of their choice.
Although it does not use the word vouchers, the report would set up a system of choice and competition in public schools that conservatives have desired for a long time. Good schools that attract more kids presumably would get more funding than failing schools.
Other government services would be structured with a similar philosophy, and a new Taxpayer Value Council would undertake audits of every part of the government, with an eye toward providing easy-to-understand information for residents.
If this report makes any plea, its to shift the focus of government away from itself and on to the citizens it is obligated to serve, Griesemer said.
DU has generated several reports on difficult issues in the last five years, beginning with a dissection of Colorados various financial laws that often work at cross-purposes.
And while DUs work is well-respected inside the Capitol, legislators and voters dont always take its advice. A 2007 call to make it harder to amend the constitution, for example, led to a ballot initiative that failed in 2008. Legislators havent been able to agree on a second attempt at a ballot issue since then.
Were very hopeful there will be interest, Griesemer said. But ultimately, I guess, the interest has to emanate from the public. After all, the leadership in the Legislature is there to serve the public.
A copy of the report is online at www.du.edu/issues.
Reach Joe Hanel at joeh@cortezjournal.com.
