This is a column by Josh Schoemann, Washington County Executive
14 years ago, Scott Walker and Republicans in the state legislature stood strong against weeks of stunts by Democrats and protests from liberals upset with a bill that would end up saving our state hundreds of billions of dollars.
“This is what democracy looks like,” the crowds chanted. Apparently they didn’t get the irony that what they were protesting was democracy itself: elected representatives and a newly-elected governor standing up to entrenched interests on behalf of taxpayers.
Now, Act 10 is still in the liberal crosshairs, and another growing threat is overwhelming our democracy: government bureaucracy. A bunch of anonymous government employees sitting in office buildings might seem boring. But the accumulated costs and red tape of municipal, county, and state bureaucracy is a silent killer that chokes off prosperity and opportunity.
The problem isn’t confined to a single department or one rogue administrator, it’s systemic. A system originally developed to carry out the decisions made by elected officials and the voters they work for now operates as its own entity. Unelected bureaucrats often see their role as in opposition to the very people they are meant to serve, neutering true representative government in the process.
If you’ve ever wondered why it is so hard for your mayor or alderman to simply get a sidewalk replaced or a street sign fixed, thank the bureaucracy. If you’ve waited months to get DNR approval for a permit, you can thank our bureaucratic state for that too. And if you’re fed up with education standards slipping while our students fall further behind – yep, bureaucracy.
To paraphrase the professional protestors in Madison, this is what bureaucracy looks like.
The bad news is that we haven’t seen a threat this great to our great American experiment since the political bosses and smoke-filled backrooms of a century ago. But the good news is we still have time to course correct. Just like back then, “we the people” are the solution.
If we don’t pursue reforms that prioritize people over paper pushers, government of, by, and for the people will be swallowed whole. It won’t be easy, but it needs to be done.
In Washington County, we’ve shown it’s possible. As county executive, I’ve worked with our county board to reduce taxes to their lowest level since World War 1. We’ve cut the size of government – and not in the way politicians count, where a smaller increase in spending is a cut. We’ve actually cut the number of county government employees, eliminated duplicative services, and reduced the overall county government tax levy. I like to say you can throw out any metric and I’d be able to tell you how we’ve improved it.
Over 100 years ago, reforms like primary elections took power from political bosses and returned it to the masses. More recently, Act 10 pried power from big union bosses and gave it back to “we the people” through our elected representatives.
Now, it’s time to take on the power of the bureaucracy. Bureaucratic creep didn’t happen overnight, and it won’t be completely fixed overnight. But the first step of replacing government by the paper pushers with government by the people comes this April. Between local races and the state Supreme Court race, voters can send a strong message the status quo is over. If we’re successful, we can kick the bureaucratic state to curb.
That is what democracy looks like.
