Fiscal Rangers

US Comptroller General slams US Govt. "Fiscal Irresponsibility"

Notice the quote from David Walker, head of the Federal GAO (Government Accountability Office) saying that he "has embarked on a mission to take his message to the people because, he says, politicians don’t want to hear about it, much less act.". Sounds just like Anna Cowin at the Lake County, FL School District. I once talked to Walker in 2005 when giving him information about fraud problems in Iraq. See Walker's "Fiscal Wake Up Tour" info at: http://gao.gov/special.pubs/longterm/wakeuptour.html vj ============================================= from CBS.com - full transcript of 60 Minutes show on Walker U.S. Heading For Financial Trouble? March 4, 2007 (CBS) When the stock market plunges like it did this week, everyone pays attention. The man you're about to meet says hardly anyone is paying attention to what really threatens our financial future. Like an Old Testament prophet, David Walker has been traveling the country, urging people to "wake up before it's too late." But David Walker is no wild-eyed zealot. As Steve Kroft reports, David Walker is an accountant, the nation’s top accountant to be exact, the comptroller general of the United States. He has totaled up our government's income, liabilities, and future obligations and concluded the numbers simply... Read more →

Lake County, INDIANA articles on Government Efficiency

Although this blog covers government efficiency issues related to Lake County, FL, we found a long series of articles written by research groups and published by local papers in Lake County, Indiana. It seems that in 2002 and 2003, there were new laws passed that drastically changed tax revenues for local governments, and there wasn't as much money, creating a great interest in government "efficiency". See the index of articles at: http://www.ibrc.indiana.edu/LakeGov/article1.pdf Notice item #5 is on School Districts. Although a short article, it does describe the percentage of total School District employees "in the classroom" (teachers and assistants) to the total number of employees, which is interesting. I will research how our Lake County District compares. These articles give a good overview of government efficiency issues in all types of agencies. vj Read more →