Speed Gibson

After praising the work of Dan McElroy in reducing State government waste and inefficiency, the Minneapolis Star Tribune now says don't let the latter get in the way of what's truly important - tax increases. We've always had "W and I" before, so don't accept these as reasons for inaction now.

Thinking like this could only occur in the public sector, not in business, not even your family budget. When the kids need braces, do we just run out and get a second job? Or do we look at the whole budget and look for things we could buy smarter or do without?

While McElroy has done good work to date, he can only operate along the edges of the legislated programs. He cannot institute a school voucher program on his own, regardless of the cost savings, regardless of the improved results.

What the editorial doesn't say, and probably doesn't even understand is that there is TREMENDOUS waste and inefficiency in government. Consider:

• Minneapolis claims it's too broke to hire more police, thanks to LGA cuts. But Minneapolis only spends 9 to 11 percent of its huge budget on police. With or without waste or inefficiency, the elimination of a small percentage of lower priority spending would solve the problem.
  
• The public schools are forever broke, but most of the salaries paid do not go to the classrooms. Maybe better teachers wouldn't need such high levels of support staff.
  
• We have a glut of post-secondary public campuses (MnSCU), and even the University of Minnesota has needless duplication. We could close a fifth, a fourth, probably a third of them right now, consolidating to retain the better professors and reducing tuition.

The editorial has it backwards. The easy and ugly answers of tax and spending increases should not preempt focus and action on waste and inefficiency.