State Revenue = Taxes lest we forget
I caught John Ketzenberger on the Gerry Dick’s Indiana Business Review this past Sunday (10/18) talking about how to get more revenue for the State of Indiana.  I have long admired John’s writing in the Indianapolis Business Journal and The Indianapolis Star.  He has an Indiana Conservative bend to him and tries hard to be balanced in his reporting.

With his move to The Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute in September, I was a bit disappointed that the topic was how to tax more services and how we compared to other states in taxing these services.  I guess I see things differently, as I believe the burning question is “how do we provision services more cost effectively so as not to have to raise taxes?”

I always struggle with the word “revenue” to replace the word “taxes” when it comes to government.  This must be the new reality.  Remember when we had money and these things weren’t an issue?  Or even the time when we didn’t have to go to other countries to beg for jobs?  Those were the days . . . I digress.

I would much rather see the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute help find ways to help provision services better.  The waste is costly whether privatized, outsourced or government run.  Other countries are finding ways to provision services less expensively with better thinking about the design and management of work. 

This may lead you (John) to find out why they are being so successful and bring new thinking to government through your research.  Entrenched government management may not be open to new ideas otherwise.  And in these times we could use some new ideas on greater effectiveness in government.

With this approach you won’t have to continually be creative in the new taxation arena, because it will require less (hmmmm) “revenue.”  Public sector innovation and working on provisioning services better and with less tax dollars is certainly a more attractive option.

 
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Tripp Babbitt is a speaker, blogger and consultant to service industry (private and public).  His organization helps executives find a better way to make the work work.  Download free from www.newsystemsthinking.com “Understanding Your Organization as a System” and gain knowledge of systems thinking or our international government services www.thesystemsthinkingreview.co.ukinfo@newsystemsthinking.com.  Reach him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TriBabbitt or LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/trippbabbitt.