This past week, I watched, with great excitement the Inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President. In the following days, a read and listened to many blogs and news accounts of his Inaugural Address, some touting it as an exemplary piece of oration and others calling it flat, especially in light of Mr. Obama’s skill.
There was, however, one passage which to my mind received too little attention:
The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.
Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end.
And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched. (Source: NYT)
Insight: If Mr. Obama truly adopts this approach to government, then it represents a major step forward for the United States and the welfare of its people. This efficiency frontier for government is something I have written about before in Cool Stuff (The Transition and Irish Broadband Forum). Defining the contours of this efficiency frontier is the next generation of policy research and debate. I commend Mr. Obama for taking a truly bipartisan approach to government (“I won” comments aside).
I wonder if this explains the hit I got on my blog from a Starbucks in Washington, DC.