Is Rip Van Walker’s nemesis open government?
In a recent Murphy’s Law
[“http://www.milwaukeemagazine.com/murphyslaw”] Bruce Murphy likened
Scott Walker to Rip Van Winkle, because of, as he put it “waiting a
mere five years and four months to take action on the Milwaukee County
pension scandal.” He goes on, and herein reflects the core of my own
dissatisfaction with Walker's approach to government; “he has obsessed
about freezing taxes, which has a short-term impact on the budget,
while dilly-dallying on the long-term fiscal impact of the various
pension sweeteners.”
If you the voters get anything out of what I propose in government, it
is to take a long term view on budgets and capital investments. Walker
and his ilk have made tax payers so focused on their own self interest,
i.e. freezing taxes, as to miss the larger prospective of the need to
invest in the long-term. I want our children to inherit a strong and
vibrant Milwaukee County, free of long term debt. I want our children
to be assured that their government serves their enlightened self
interests. I want our children to feel secure that their government is
honest, humane and cost effective.
One important investment we need to make is in open government.
As a former Internet Engineer and Internet Architect I feel that
government must and can be, open to the “peoples audit” through the
power of the world wide web. Due to media consolidation, and the
influence of political ideology on editorial staffs at Milwaukee’s
leading mass media outlets, we can no longer trust the fourth estate to
always be our ombudsman and auditor. As Bruce Murphy points out about
Walker: “In essence, the media has allowed him to repeatedly blame his
disgraced predecessor, Tom Ament, for any problems that have arisen.
But at a certain point, you have to take ownership of the government
you run.”
I worked with and for Internet startups, some who had to finance
operations on minimal cash flow. I know how to pinch pennies and
provide good information services. Why aren't departmental budget
drafts on line in full detail and in http format, not formats that
demand proprietary software or high bandwidth connections? Why aren't
all proceedings that qualify as public meetings under Wisconsin State
Statutes webcast on YouTube? If we make the commitment to fully open
the budgeting and operations of the government to the public, we will
insure true and swift reform. I believe we can do this on a modest
budget that will save more than it costs.
Open government would fundamentally alter the relationship between the
government and the people in way that transcends partisan politics. Bad
government and obscurantism are bedfellows. Examine the Milwaukee
County web site as a case in point. If the pension system were open to
pubic scrutiny at the click of a mouse, would we be discussing $50
million in buyback benefits being heisted from the public coffers? If
the Milwaukee County Executive can't monitor bad deeds being done in
his own administration then make it so the people can. All the gory
details of internal operations at the Milwaukee County Courthouse must
be subject to the corruption cleansing daylight provided by every
citizen’s web browser.
Open government is true reform.
--
Joe Klein
Candidate for Milwaukee County Executive
http://www.joeklein.org
This correspondence is authorized and paid for by Friends of Joe Klein,
Mary Jo Klein, Treasurer.
3425 N. Bartlett Avenue, Milwaukee, WI. 53211; +1 414 375 0313