Louisiana beat us

A follow to Meister Poftak’s post on the Grading the States report card released by Governing magazine and Pew’s Government Performance Project on the quality of governance in the 50 states.

Just think about it: Last year Governing magazine splashed House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi’s face all over America for the work that he, former Senate President Travaglini and former Governor Romeny did in crafting the health care reform act.

So much change, so fast. Governing rates Mass governance a C after a review of fiscal management, the use of technology, the state workforce, and infrastructure. (I understand the rating on the workforce – the grade must have taken a nosedive after I left…)

Where do we stink? Well, we are consistent. It is in all four areas rated; specifically:
A) The Fisc: Bad long-term outlook, large structural imbalance
B) IT: No strategic direction, no budgeting for performance
C) Workforce: Little strategic workforce planning and poor hiring practices
D) Infrastructure: Little capital planning, insufficient maintenance

Folks, I love New Orleans, but, ahem, Louisiana beat us (they got a B). Can we please roll up our sleeves and get to work? And, no, that does not mean another billion dollar bond bill to put us further into debt, but rather undertaking the hard work of reform, seeking to make our government as effective as the people and businesses it serves.