VICKSBURG - Wonks can be wonderful.
When their jobs include gathering and comparing reams of state-by-state data, it can't be the most joyful pursuit in the world. Yet those who choose to examine the minutiae of how things work (or don't) seem to do so with good cheer.
Strictly speaking, they deal in science, not opinion - but sometimes an analyst will compose a perfect paragraph. Consider this artful understatement:
"With the help of state Fiscal Officer J.K. 'Hoopy' Stringer Jr., brought in after a long career in the military and a stint as state personnel director, (Mississippi Gov. Haley) Barbour has created a group called 'Momentum Mississippi,' charged with writing a long-range plan for the state that focuses on economic development. But, while this is a helpful sign, skeptics argue that a fragmented agency structure coupled with a willful legislature may make the effort little more than a pleasant alliteration."
A non-wonk sitting on a pickup tailgate might phrase it this way: "Mississippi has people who can organize, but lawmakers like keeping their hands in every pie."
The longer analysis was in the 2005 edition of the national Government Performance Project. The author is unknown. Mississippi got a C-plus that year.
Wonks, a friendly term (I hope) for econometricists and others who work behind the scenes, have a singular vision. They live in a neat, orderly and logical universe. In their heart of hearts they believe governments can be efficient. Their sole goal and purpose is to find out how to take whatever capital the private economy provides and parlay it into the greatest amount of good for me, you and all the other Joe Paychecks.
Problem is, once they draft something akin to easy-to-assemble instructions, they have to turn things over to the amateurs - those "willful" members of the Legislature who, like many parents this week, will look at the instructions only as a last resort.
Lawmakers convene at noon on Jan. 2 for the 2007 regular session. They will also be of good cheer. The primary reason is that state revenue is cycling up. Having more cash to spread around in an election year is a legislator's dream come true. Too, they have an excellent foil in Barbour, also expected to seek another term.
The governor has again positioned himself against raising the tax on cigarettes while cutting it on groceries and, while he's for another big increase in funds for education at all levels, he's not attached to formulas in the Mississippi Adequate Education Plan the way most lawmakers are. So there will be sparks. The sparks will get most of the attention.
That leaves the wonks to struggle on.
Take those in Hoopy Stringer's 350-employee Department of Finance and Administration. With zero fanfare, they guide and enforce rules in the annual spending of 11 billion public dollars in this state. Common sense says doing that with acumen and precision could make a difference worth hundreds of millions.
And look at the Momentum Mississippi effort. Not only does the name provide a pleasing alliteration, the benefits it could provide just in terms of a unified approach to state agency organization would be revolutionary.
As things stand, some state agencies report to the Legislature, some report to the governor, some report to the governor and the Legislature and some really don't know who they're supposed to report to. The Mississippi Board of Health is just one panel with a fuzzy existence that has, in turn, led to doubtful performance.
There are at least 125 such entities, ranging from behemoths such as Medicaid and the Department of Human Services to the state Board of Agricultural Aviation.
Stringer may make cosmetic adjustments and Momentum Mississippi make make suggestions. Lawmakers make the rules - and usually with little reference to the expertise wonks could provide.
For the coming year, especially, caution would be advised. The wonks can clearly show, using a county-by-county map showing post-Katrina sales tax receipts, that today's income surge is probably temporary. In the three counties that touch the Gulf of Mexico, for example, taxable sales were up an average of 50 percent in the first nine months of this year as compared to 2005. To the north, there were actually declines in some counties. That means once people and businesses replace all the cars and homes and furnishings lost in the hurricane, revenue could drop, sharply.
It's not that lawmakers don't know this. They do.
But, as the anonymous wonk wrote, they are "willful." Their focus will be to ratchet up spending to match the higher revenue, period. How to govern smarter isn't a priority when the till is full.
