Let’s Have Our Say

by Craig Ruff
June 16, 2010

I and colleagues at Public Sector Consultants are aligned proudly with the mission and work of the Center for Michigan.

On June 3 the Center released findings of three years’ work to find out what Michiganians see as their values, the goals they would like the state to achieve, and the strategic choices they believe must be made to meet the goals. Ten thousand state residents participated.

This was not a poll. It was face-to-face conversation in groups of 15 or so at a time, who gathered in living rooms, boardrooms, bars, and elsewhere to chat about what sets Michigan apart and to identify actions that can make it a better place. You will find the report here.

Collectively, the findings boil down to three goals and 10 strategies to meet them — the Citizens’ Agenda. The goals are key drivers of progress:

• A talented, globally competitive workforce
• Solid economic growth and a good quality of life
• An effective, efficient, and accountable government.

The 10 strategies to meet the goals include changing how and what schools teach, creating a more business-friendly entrepreneurial environment, and getting local governments (cities, townships, counties, school districts, and the like) to share or consolidate many more services.

Coherence among 10,000 diverse people is tough to achieve. When, as the Center has proven, people coalesce around a handful of values and game-changing strategies, there is wisdom in the crowd.

People join at the hip about what’s right and wrong and in support of a common “to do” list. Cynics and political poseurs (particularly in an election year) try to foist on us trumped-up divisions, phony choices, and distractions, but our best defense is a good offense: When did you last ask us if we wanted hyper-partisanship? Why are you tearing us asunder when you know that we agree on the really big matters?

Many will sling arrows at the Center’s work. Cynics will be unconvinced that there is hope. Others will split hairs about the report’s findings and use it as an excuse for inaction. Some, those who view other people’s opinions and values as beside the point, will dismiss the findings; nothing should unsettle their certainty of how life should be lived. All of these types are what got and keeps Michigan in trouble.

The Center makes the following three calls to action to the citizenry:

• Pay attention to and reflect on election debates
• Sign three online petitions urging overhaul of the state budget/tax system, more spending on universities than prisons, and repeal or revision of legislative term limits
• Out demeaning and deceitful political ads.

With 19 co-sponsors, the Center is sponsoring more than 50 gubernatorial and state legislative debates, all being aired on local public television and on-demand via MiVote.org. In an utterly novel appeal, the Center asks people to invite friends and neighbors to their homes to watch the debates, discuss key points, and report conclusions to the Center.

The three petitions may be found here. Within minutes of their being launched, people started lending their names. I suspect that tens of thousands will sign. Hundreds of thousands would be even better.

The Center has created a Michigan Truth Squad to report and judge the fairness or foulness of political ads. The way it works is that people will report electronic and print ads that they suspect to be shy of the truth, and unbiased referees will scrutinize and determine the material’s truthfulness and merit. The website is Michigantruthsquad.com, and on it you can see submittals and the jury’s conclusions. People who turn in the worst ads will win gifts, just like being paid a bounty in the Old West.

Divide-and-conquer typifies election years. A campaign is a peaceful way of waging war. Unfortunately, victory frequently goes to the candidate who badmouths the opponent the loudest and oftenest.

Here’s an idea: How about if candidates discuss conflicting views? This would help to raise the public’s (and their own) full understanding of problems and different ways to solve them.

Moreover, how about if they forgo tangling with one another about the values and the big dreams on which virtually everyone agrees? Common sense tells us that the 10,000 Michiganians are right: We need a talented workforce, economic growth, and better governance. You candidates are allowed to quibble over the little things and tactics, but please do not try to detract or divide on our common aims.

The more that we can focus our views, the more that we share with others who care, and the more we get our point across to the political establishment, the faster Michigan will catch up and again grow. The Center leads the way. It gives us, the people, an easy way to set the agenda for our leaders and the candidates, rather than letting them set it for us, and to hold them accountable.

Trust the public. The Center for Michigan does.

(Note: It’s high time for me to thank both Tom Scott and my dear friend, Billie Harrison, for editing my commentaries. Billie and Tom have caught untold errors—big and small. More importantly, they add zest. I could not ask for two better servants of readers.)

Craig Ruff is, among many things, a senior policy fellow and former president of Lansing-based Public Sector Consultants.