[Speed Gibson,
Monday February 18, 2008 at 7:33pm]
The Full Time Legislature - I
We have the per diem scandal, where our Legislature has cleverly raised their own pay, possibly illegally, certainly immorally. Many committees and meetings were formed to help run up those tabs. We have a proposal to allow the Legislature to call itself into Special Session at will, which would require a Constitutional Amendment. We can gripe all we want, but the concept of a part-time citizen Legislature is long since dead. Short of locking down the Capitol and associated offices, again by Constitutional Amendment, it's time for the Republicans to drop such talk. There is as much chance of that as enacting term limits, given who has to vote on it.
But some reform on per diem itself may be possible. Virtually every city and county howled, yet significant Eminent Domain reform was passed recently. The Legislators smelled the fear and anger over Kelo decision and largely had to go along. The people understood it. Ditto the U. S. House Bank and Post Office scandals that helped the GOP take the Congress in 1994. The people understood it.
So how do we frame the per diem scandal? It is every bit a scandal going back to the days of former per-diem and expense account champion Bill Luther. We have to present it in terms the people readily get. Can I overdraw my checking account? You mean corporations can move me off my land just because they promise to pay more taxes?
I'd even invoke a little Management 101. You have two salaried employees, identical in almost every way, including results however measured. But Nerlman spends 60-70 hours a week, while Bob works pretty close to 40 hours a week, maybe even a little under. Who is the better employee?
Nerlman could make a good case if he produced even 20 percent more output. But he doesn't. Instead, those hours of dedication are somewhat of a liability. There's no excess capacity. He's more likely to let you down for illness or unforeseen absences. You can't as readily send him on business trips, for the backlog will overwhelm him when he returns.
So, who's the better Legislator? Committee chair Nerlman who holds 120 days of hearings in the off-season? Or Bob, who gets his work done smoothly during the session, and goes home to his family and day job when he's supposed to?
The truth be told, Legislator Nerlman is incompetent, and if taking per diem for all those hearings, possibly dishonest. The Legislature has time constraints, as in many professions. A surgeon has only so long to to perform a heart bypass operation, and there are no coffee breaks. A lawyer has to be to court on time and risks contempt citations for plainly wasting the court's time. A sports reporter has only so long after the game to make deadline. In fact, no employer will give you endless time to achieve results, even in the public sector. We aren't going to wait forever for that new I-35W bridge.
If Bob can do his work and go home, why can't Nerlman? The expectations are in the Constitution. I'll give him a pass if it's his first term, but he has no excuse after that. Arguments that all those extra hearings make for better legislation are unprovable, and again, not recognized by the Minnesota Constitution. In fact, it's the Nerlmans that create the crazy quilt of school finance formulas that districts are constantly recomputing before making any significant decisions.
Nerlman's bus formula requires a fancy calculator. Bob just pays the IRS mileage rate. And if it's at all close, the districts will obviously opt for the latter. Again, who is the better legislator?
Bob.
But some reform on per diem itself may be possible. Virtually every city and county howled, yet significant Eminent Domain reform was passed recently. The Legislators smelled the fear and anger over Kelo decision and largely had to go along. The people understood it. Ditto the U. S. House Bank and Post Office scandals that helped the GOP take the Congress in 1994. The people understood it.
So how do we frame the per diem scandal? It is every bit a scandal going back to the days of former per-diem and expense account champion Bill Luther. We have to present it in terms the people readily get. Can I overdraw my checking account? You mean corporations can move me off my land just because they promise to pay more taxes?
I'd even invoke a little Management 101. You have two salaried employees, identical in almost every way, including results however measured. But Nerlman spends 60-70 hours a week, while Bob works pretty close to 40 hours a week, maybe even a little under. Who is the better employee?
Nerlman could make a good case if he produced even 20 percent more output. But he doesn't. Instead, those hours of dedication are somewhat of a liability. There's no excess capacity. He's more likely to let you down for illness or unforeseen absences. You can't as readily send him on business trips, for the backlog will overwhelm him when he returns.
So, who's the better Legislator? Committee chair Nerlman who holds 120 days of hearings in the off-season? Or Bob, who gets his work done smoothly during the session, and goes home to his family and day job when he's supposed to?
The truth be told, Legislator Nerlman is incompetent, and if taking per diem for all those hearings, possibly dishonest. The Legislature has time constraints, as in many professions. A surgeon has only so long to to perform a heart bypass operation, and there are no coffee breaks. A lawyer has to be to court on time and risks contempt citations for plainly wasting the court's time. A sports reporter has only so long after the game to make deadline. In fact, no employer will give you endless time to achieve results, even in the public sector. We aren't going to wait forever for that new I-35W bridge.
If Bob can do his work and go home, why can't Nerlman? The expectations are in the Constitution. I'll give him a pass if it's his first term, but he has no excuse after that. Arguments that all those extra hearings make for better legislation are unprovable, and again, not recognized by the Minnesota Constitution. In fact, it's the Nerlmans that create the crazy quilt of school finance formulas that districts are constantly recomputing before making any significant decisions.
Nerlman's bus formula requires a fancy calculator. Bob just pays the IRS mileage rate. And if it's at all close, the districts will obviously opt for the latter. Again, who is the better legislator?
Bob.