Political Ponderings: Watch and Spend Like Its Your Own Money

by Raymond J. Keating

January 4, 2010

It’s amusing to here elected officials proclaim that they are going to make government efficient. Or, that they are going to run government like a private business.

In reality, government and private business are two very different things. Private businesses have owners. That means incentives exist to control costs, and boost efficiency. Serve the customer well, and profits result. Run the business poorly, and owners are punished by losses and eventually going out of business. In summary, success is rewarded, and failure is punished.

Government, on the other hand, is devoid of incentives to control costs and enhance efficiency. There are no owners, no profits, no losses, and no threat of going out of business. In fact, failure usually gets rewarded with bigger budgets and more personnel.

This is why government should be limited in its size and scope.

With all of this in mind, it was interesting to note what the new Nassau County Comptroller had to say at his swearing in on January 3. According to Newsday, Republican George Maragos, who defeated the incumbent Howard Weitzman (D) by 644 votes, said: “I will watch your money as my own. And I will always be independent of the executive and legislature.”

Those are two guiding principles that all elected officials should adopt. Independence is critical, especially for a watchdog position like comptroller.

But even more important is the idea of treating the taxpayers’ money like one’s own money. What if all politicians adopted such a foundational principle? Would they really spend so extravagantly and wastefully as has long been the case on Long Island and in New York (not to mention at the national level)?

Spending other people’s money should be a sacred trust, done carefully and only as a very last resort. That, however, is most certainly not the case on Long Island and across the rest of New York. Given the fiscal mess at all levels of government New York – from towns and school districts up to the state – it’s time for elected officials to adopt the Maragos principle of governance: Watch and spend like its your own money.

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Raymond J. Keating is the publisher and editor of Keating Reports and the Long Island Sentinel. He can be reached at keatingreports@aol.com.

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