It’s time state government listens to ‘voice of the people’
Feb 21, 2010 | 1627 views | 4 
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Unfortunately, public officials often have invoked fuzzy versions of the “voice of the people” to justify questionable causes and foist empty solutions upon their constituents. Maybe these politicians are just confused by the onslaught of ideas from loud activists and powerful special interests, all claiming to speak for the people.
It’s also unfortunate that many citizens have opted out of civic dialogue and defaulted as responsible participants in the democratic process. Perhaps they’re just disgusted with endless attack ads, robo-calls and sales pitches disguised as public-opinion surveys.
All of which leads me to suggest that letting Alabamians have a legitimate, periodic, scientifically measured voice in political decisions might enhance democracy in a state that surely needs a civic boost.
A simple proposal
I propose that Alabama’s state government considers instituting an annual survey of citizen attitudes toward important governmental functions for which these citizens pay good money and have reasonable expectations of quality service.
I’m not talking about stirring up divisive, contentious issues like race, abortion and taxes. I envision simple questions about general public satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the state’s performance in areas such as education, transportation, health care and public safety.
Actually, my proposal is a variation of a governance discussion at a meeting of the Center for a Better South last fall. I’m a member of this group that seeks to inspire Southern leaders to move the region forward, and we spent a full weekend talking about a broad agenda of measurable objectives.
I was particularly interested in the following plank of the group’s conclusions: “Each Southern state should develop and implement a benchmark citizen trust survey by 2011. By 2015, each state’s levels of trust in state government should increase by 20 percent over the benchmark.” I think asking the public for guidance would be a definite step forward in enhancing citizen trust.
How might this work?
I’ve talked with numerous sources — public-opinion experts, administrative professionals and even politicians — the past few weeks about this idea. Their response has been universally positive and enthusiastic.
Actually, structured public input of this sort is fairly common at the local level. The city of Auburn, for example, has used public opinion as part of its policy-making and budgetary decisions since the 1980s. Folks there tell me it works very well.
Alabama could do the same thing at the state level. We have a solid corps of scholars experienced in measuring public opinion, and several universities have performed such research for various agencies over the past few decades. Estimates of cost are all reasonable, ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 for an annual survey that meets acceptable standards of scientific analysis. The real question is not whether this endeavor is feasible, but whether politicians will buy into the idea.
Public officials quite often are reluctant to take this step in modern governance, fearing that the survey will be faulty and will be used against them politically. In truth, furthermore, the environment of state politics is more combative than at the local level. The governor and/or the state Legislature would have to commit to a new way of doing the people’s business. They would have to craft a reputable, independent, broad-based authority to oversee the integrity of the survey. They would have to incorporate the findings into their policies and budgets. And they would need to sustain this project over several years to monitor their progress as representatives and decide whether the new system is worthwhile for the long run.
Thus, this proposal requires bold and determined leadership in Montgomery and reasoned thinking among citizens throughout the state. But the fact is that surveys are standard practice in some governmental settings, many media organizations and most commercial marketing operations. They don’t cost much money. And they work.
A timely question for this year’s elections
The essential question posed here is straightforward: “Should the voice of the people have a more official and significant role — through scientific citizen surveys — in modern Alabama government?”
I believe the 2010 election is a perfect time for Alabamians to debate the issue among themselves, and I encourage voters to probe wannabe officials about this proposal at various campaign forums over the next few months. Institutionalizing public opinion in state policy deliberations may sound like a radical new idea, but such surveys have to be an improvement over rule by activists and lobbyists.
Perhaps the time is right for “vox populi” to become more than a fancy term engraved on a legislative seal hanging on a wall in the statehouse. Officializing the voice of the people would give our elected officials better guidance for their decisions and our citizens might feel better about their contribution to the process. And we all might be better off as a democratic society.
Unfortunately you are the only one that doesn't get it . The politicians know what the "people" want, they just prefer to listen to the bribes from special interest groups behind the scenes.
It is interesting that you propose to charge us lowly citizens some sort of "survey fee" for us to find out what we are thinking. Is there a remote chance that your department at JSU would just happen to be willing to perform the survey for said fee?
Don't get me wrong because I personally think you have a teriffic resume and have served us well at various levels of government. The one thing that all citizens should be asking about every public servant, service or entitlement is if we really need it or if the public is willing to pay for the service.
I mean no disrespect as this question needs to be asked for every public job or service but lets consider your position at JSU.
1. What does your salary, benefits and payroll burden cost the taxpayer every year?
2. What does your reimbursable expenses, travel and misc. expendatures cost the taxpayer every year?
3. Do you actually teach classes or provide lectures for a fee and how much does those activities contribute back to the general fund?
4. In essence is there someone in the public willing to pay for your product or service and does the profits pay for the taxes we have to pay to keep you on?
Again, I really respect you and your past contributions but we need to start looking closely at every public expendature ensuring that everything is absolutely necessary. If we somehow can find some jobs or programs to cut that are nice to have but don't produce a product or service that someone is willing to pay for then we can eliminate proration and provide raises for jobs that are desired by the public.
I don't have a PHD but I can assure you that we can't keep paying for people and programs that have no willing consumers in the public market place. It's not pleasant for civil servants to consider that their job or program may be in jeopardy but it's something the rest of us in the real world have to deal with every day. We either produce or get cut.
Thanks again for your service and I am hoping that you will be able to tell us that you indeed are able to make a profit for JSU. As for the will of the people, we can do just fine if you will help us get the big money out of politics.
Regards,
Live Free or Die
We need a buffer to sort out bad ideas that the general public would propose. We just need to keep up more with what these officials are doing and hold them accountable.
We rail at the special interests and activities that, fundamentally, often promote the counter interests of the average Alabamian. Yet, we need a scientific survey to have the interests of our people represented? It would only work with general complex understanding of the issues, assuming people are capable of deferring to community good and being inhuman emotionally as the social issues are elevated by money to obscure. Rich tradition here. Simply, we get what we pay for, and we do not pay for much. We continually send the same people to Montgomery and expect different results. Why? Because the incumbent has the benefit of special interest money and cheesy lobbyists. And, we need a survey to counteract that? No, we need all Alabamians to take the time and seriousness of purpose to evaluate the ideas that will carry this state forward, including constitutional and legislative reforms. We need to scoff and see it for what it is as the corporation utilizes abortion, gay rights, gambling or other good emotional triggers to circumvent real understanding of real problems in education, prisons, and Medicaid. Too many people prefer tabloids, and still wonder why little Johnny is behind a reading.
The train is off the rails federally, at the state level, and local communities must begin to realize they are the unit of last resort, and they will be called upon. Yet we laugh at local government and tolerate so much. America has $65,000,000,000,000 in unpaid entitlement liabilities. As with this number that is difficult to put in context (but will, soon), the delivery systems and financing for our education and health care are equally hard for the lay Alabamian to understand. So inevitably, it all comes down to what will be best for me? Low taxes is a concept easy to understand and for some, no further debate is needed. I challenge that almost all Alabamians do not understand our societal bankruptcy and the burden being transferred to our children. Again, difficult to put in context. Without the ability or opportunity or willingness at complex understanding, what is the value of a survey asking questions that have been so obscured and will continue to be at record pace due to the Supreme Court's most recent unlimited empowerment of Wall Street in the political arena? Dr. Browder's $20,000 in survey cost would be multiplied 1000 times by corporate interests to keep our "heads right", if need be.
I agree the City of Auburn has done this with success. Their community is forward thinking. However, a survey asking what day is preferable for garbage pick-up if far different than what seems to be a proposal to trick our representative form of government into effectiveness. In the end, it is people choosing the right people to do right thing for the right reason. If you get it wrong, throw them out at the earliest convenience. Technology can not replace that. Granted, there is a huge void of good willing politicians because of the state of mind of the electorate. Mostly, we will vote for someone if the word "conservative" is paired with low taxes on a yard sign. If the answers were only that simple.
That's why I have a website (www.doctoriq.com) focused on helping Alabama become the next state to have a constitutional Initiative and Referendum (I&R) process that voters can use, when necessary, to introduce REAL reform and accountability legislation that can bypass both the legislature and the governor and be put on a ballot for voters to accept or reject.
In 2006, when for the first time in Alabama history an I&R bill reached the floor of the House of Representatives for debate, the Birmingham News reported as follows:
“The bill died after lawmaker after lawmaker stepped up to question it. Rep. Mike Ball, R-Huntsville, after more than an hour of talk, saw the handwriting on the wall and withdrew his bill.
The opposition from lawmakers was clear. ‘We have a representative republic and not a direct democracy,’ said Rep. Robert Bentley, R-Tuscaloosa.
Rep. James Buskey, D-Mobile, said people should run for the Legislature if they want to pass laws. ‘If people want to legislate, let them run,’ he said.
Ball said the bill died mainly because powerful lobby groups comfortable with killing or passing bills at the State House disliked the idea of letting voters pass laws that lobbyists couldn't kill in the Legislature. ‘I'm going to keep trying,’ he said. ‘It will not pass until the public demands it.’ Ball said. 25 states have some form of citizens' initiative.”
If Alabamians want to have a real voice in their state government now is the time to tell the two people who were elected to represent their interests to either help pass the current I&R bill, HB201, or else they (the constituent) will do everything possible to make sure the legislators are never elected to another public office in Alabama, starting with the elections later this year.