The price of government
Subtitle: getting the results we need in an age of permanent fiscal crisis
By: David Osbourne and Peter Hutchinson.
Contributors: Hutchinson, Peter, 1949-
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 2004
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 370
Subjects: Fiscal policy -- United States -- States; Budget -- United States -- States; United States -- Politics and government; United States -- Appropriations and expenditures
Description: "Overall, American governments from the White House to City Hall are enduring their worst fiscal crisis since World War II. But this time, the crisis will be permanent. On one side are skyrocketing costs for health care, Social Security and pensions. On the other is opposition to tax increases. In the face of this crisis the bankrupt ideologies of left and right offer little guidance. The Price of Government does." "Whereas Reinventing Government, David Osborne's 1992 New York Times bestseller, was a manifesto for change, The Price of Government is a clear, step-by-step roadmap for change, offering concrete solutions drawn from the author's combined thirty years of experience leading and advising public institutions. The authors begin by describing a radically different approach to budgeting - one that focuses on buying results for citizens rather than cutting or adding to last year's spending programs. They go on to show how leaders can use consolidation, competition, customer choice, and a relentless focus on results to save millions while improving public services, at all levels of government."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 337-360) and index.
Table of contents: title: Getting a grip on the problem; title: Setting the price of government; title: Setting the priorities of government : buying results that citizens value (at the price they are willing to pay); title: Strategic reviews : divesting to invest; title: Consolidation : smart mergers; title: Rightsizing : the right work, the right way, with the right staff; title: Buying services competitively; title: Rewarding performance, not good intentions; title: Smarter customer service : putting customers in the driver's seat; title: Don't buy mistrust; title: eliminate it; title: Using flexibility to get accountability; title: Make administrative systems allies, not enemies; title: Smarter work processes : tools from industry; title: Leading the transformation and managing the politics.