“Why do we have state parks, city parks, county parks and regional parks? Of course we value our parks and open spaces. It’s one of our great gems. But do we really need four different bureaucracies dealing with that?”
– Annette Meeks, CEO of the conservative Freedom Foundation of Minnesota and the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in 2010, quoted in "Minnesota budget standoff a battle over big-spending legacy", Duluth News Tribune, 2011-07-08.
I don't think Ms. Meeks understands that different levels of government serve different needs. Do we want the county or state running Enger Park, the Rose Garden, or Chester Bowl? We in Duluth would like to control our own parks. Would the people of Hennepin County like the state to run its extensive park system? I think they would want to determine how they are run. Conversely, should Lake County control Gooseberry Falls when it is a treasure for people all over Minnesota.
Does she think that we shouldn't have four bureaucracies dealing with city streets, county roads, state highways, and the Interstate? Each serves a different constituency. Would she want a county deciding that an Interstate in the county should be a two-lane road? Would she want the federal government deciding to put an eight-lane highway where her house is?
I think she is mixing "efficiency" (spending the least possible money) with "effectiveness" (meeting the needs of customers or citizens).
