Posted by
John R. LaPlante on Tuesday, August 08, 2006 10:14:22 AM
During the mid-1980s, the Grace Commission offered a number of suggestions for reforming federal practices. Though the commission’s recommendations were never fully implemented, they have saved federal taxpayers three-quarters of a trillion dollars.
The need for ideas at the federal level is obvious. But state governments aren’t thrifty, either. The Virginia Institute for Public Policy notes that “It took the state government in Virginia 386 years to reach a $30 billion biennial budget. It has only taken the last 10 years to add a second $30 billion to that budget.”
As a way to fiscal control and effective government, the Institute has released the Virginia Piglet book. It’s modeled on the Grace Commission report.
The Virginia Piglet book applies many of the same principles to state government.
It reminds lawmakers that there are ways to reduce costs.
Competitive sourcing, for example, could cut costs by 30 percent.
Eliminating unnecessary functions could save additional money. Approximately $700 million could be saved by getting government out of the business of running liquor stores, for example.
Merging departments could bring administrative savings; at least $25 million could be saved simply by merging agencies within the Department of Business Assistance.
If all the recommendations in the Piglet book were implemented, taxpayers could save $2.4 billion.