In case you care to read them, below are my two latest published pieces for your perusal, and they strike a common theme: transparency in government. On Nov. 24, the Rocky Mountain News published (printed in the Sunday Denver Post, of all places) my Speakout submission in response to Gov. Ritter's unionization executive order. This Sunday, the Pueblo Chieftain published my op-ed calling for greater online transparency of school district budgets. Want to figure out as a taxpayer just how much your local schools are spending on different items? Think it's easy? Hence, the purpose of the op-ed. So yes, I've been writing on a transparency in government kick lately. It's an important issue more people on both sides of the aisle might … [Read more...]
Chieftain: Ritter’s Order Unnecessary, Counterproductive, and Harmful
The Pueblo Chieftain joins other Colorado newspaper editorial voices in rejecting the arguments made for Gov. Ritter's executive order unionizing state employees:While he hopes his partnership arrangements will lead to new efficiencies, just the opposite could result. Unions are notorious for demanding - and receiving - work rules that often run counter to efficient operations. In addition to high medical insurance costs, old-line industries such as steel and autos had work rules that made them less competitive than those plants which operate without unions. The governor maintains that the restrictions on the state budget ensconced in TABOR would limit the amount the state could meet in future union pay demands. But there’s always the … [Read more...]