Silly Veto

I think the jury's still out on Gov. Schweitzer. Any governor who pledges to veto any and all tax increases at least demonstrates the most basic understanding of economics. The Dems like to claim we can't afford tax cuts; at least our Governor understands we can't afford tax increases.

But his veto of a bill (SB 153) sponsored by Sen. John Cobb (hardly a right-winger), makes me question where our Democratic Governor is really coming from. This bill would have made the Department of Health and Human Services set goals and then report on whether the goals were met. The Governor's administration also indicated he will veto a similar bill (SB 109) "that would have required all state agencies to develop five year 'strategic plans.' " These bills would have required some accountability from government agencies that spend our money. They were passed overwhelmingly by the Senate, each with only 6 no votes.

SB 153 would require the DPHHS to report on such things as the number of projects worked on during the year, the number of children entering care of the state each year, the number of low income homes weatherized, the number of households provided with energy assistance, etc. (If nothing else, read the bill just to see how many pies DPHHS really has its fingers in!)

I am on the local United Way board. A few years ago, our local United Way caused a ruckus when it switched to "outcome based funding." This means that recipients of United Way dollars have to tell us what they want to accomplish, and then they have to report back whether or not they were successful. When I first learned of this system, my response was "why doesn't government do that?"

Now I know.