Review would be a good idea (12/11/06)

Should billion-dollar decisions be made without serious review?

That's a question Hoosiers need to be asking themselves.

Gov. Mitch Daniels, in his latest privatization move, wants to eliminate large chunks of state government in the Family and Social Services Administration, and contract with IBM to do the job.

Does that make sense?

Right now, it depends upon who you talk to.

The governor, who seems to view privatization as the be-all and end-all solution when it comes to streamlining bureaucracy, would tell you yes.

State workers in the FSSA would argue, with conviction and pretty convincingly, that the answer should be no.

The knee-jerk response would be that these folks are simply trying to protect their jobs.

But when you're talking about a billion dollars over ten years, it's important to get beyond the knee-jerk response.

While individual races for the Indiana House and Senate were decided upon the merits of each match-up, there was one consistent theme coming from the Democrats: Does privativzation always make sense? And are the proper checks and balances in place to make sure such decisions are reviewed by more than one branch of government?

Those were good questions before November, and they're equally good questions now that the governor's FSSA proposal is on the table.

In a recent interview, Gov. Daniels allowed as how his push-it-through and sell-it-later style the past couple of years needed some refining.

This latest "big idea" is a great candidate for a new approach.

At the same time, it makes sense for the General Assembly to take a long, hard look at the entire process involved when an administration wants to privatize public services. - J.R.[[In-content Ad]]