• Tommy Thompson (R-Wisc.) is in the lead on welfare reform.
• The State of Oregon is defining eligibility for Medicaid services in a
controversial, but rational way.
There are countless other examples of state and local leaders who have not
waited for federal assistance.. .or who, in fact, have asked the federal government to
get out of the way.
Yes, there will be potholes in the road toward devolution. There are legitimate
concerns that welfare reform may leave more children in poverty and that devolution
of human service programs may lead to regional inequities. Concerns also have been
raised about the ability of the state and local tax base to absorb greater responsibility
for public assistance programs. Thus, the Michigan property tax reform effort may be
the forerunner of other states’ tax system overhaul, as pressure mounts to find fairer,
more broad-based means of financing human service needs.
As the debate over devolution moves forward, the emphasis will not be on whether
it should happen, but rather on how much and how far. Which programs can we shift
to the local level? What kind of safety net must be maintained through federal
intervention? Where will we find the money?
Fortunately, a new generation of leaders at the state and local levels is beginning
to provide answers to these questions.
American voters took a chance on Clinton and the Democrats in 1992. Then
they appeared to reverse themselves by embracing Gingrich and the Republicans in
1994.
These election returns were not at all inconsistent, however, when viewed from
a broader perspective. During the last several election cycles, voters have been
consistently voting against the status quo. They have (1) replaced a Republican
president with a Democrat; (2) replaced a Democratic Congress with Republicans
(not incidentally, for the first time in 40 years); (3) elected Republican mayors to lead
cities thought to be solidly Democratic; (4) chosen Republican governors in such
Democratic-leaning states as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Massachusetts and
New York; and (5) selected Democratic governors in such Republican-leaning states
as Colorado, Nebraska, Florida, Vermont and Georgia.
Voters may not understand the nuance of every public policy. But, like a board
of trustees, they do reserve the right to determine the general direction of public policy.
And, by their votes in recent years, Americans have been clearly expressing their desire
for change and their support for leaders who will challenge us to do things differently.
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