Newsletter - April 2025

On social media, at town halls, and in day-to-day discourse, the focus seems to be the same: articulating the problems our country faces. But what about solutions to those problems?

In theory, our political leaders are elected to help us with this. (It's one of my principles of good government.) But there remains broad dissatisfaction among constituents in both our elected leaders' ability and commitment to solving problems. So, what can we do as voters if our congresspeople can't do the job?

Participatory democracy can help "fill the gap" of inaction by our representatives, and it can help counter action taken by our representatives that we do not feel is in our best interests. Civil discourse, as promoted and modeled by Braver Angels and a number of other groups, helps generate constructive engagement. But in order to translate that engagement into constructive solutions, we need to go beyond talking about problems to generating solutions.

The local pilot with Braver Angels and Voice of the People that I spoke about in last month's newsletter provides one potential approach towards elevating civil discourse from talking about problems to generating solutions. Another example of work being done to empower communities to solve problems are the Citizens' Assemblies being organized by Unify America.

I encourage everyone to elevate their actions from complaining about government and the problems around us to engaging in constructive dialog to help drive solutions to problems.

This month's social media posts:

• AllSides Media bias chart

• Maryland Matters article on local solutions to childcare

• Go Vocal article on Participatory Democracy

• Town Hall meetings 101 from goodparty.org

Follow Speak Up for Good Government on Facebook and follow me on LinkedIn and X.

Have a great month!

Newsletter - March 2025

The scope of my work continues to be driven by my eight good government principles, with the belief that through those principles we can reduce legislative gridlock and empower the public to impact and inform federal legislation. 

During the first three months of this year, news and headlines have been focused on the work and actions of the Trump administration through their executive actions and the work of DOGE. I continue to believe that the work of DOGE is critically impactful and bears extremely close scrutiny.

Although the executive branch is getting most of the headlines, our Constitution spells out that it is the responsibility of Congress to enable and empower the work of our federal government through the laws and budget appropriations that they pass, so their work should be garnering increasing attention in the upcoming weeks and months as they fund the government and provide the legislative framework for the Trump agenda.

---

I am pleased to announce that the local pilot I am working on with Braver Angels and Voice of the People is making very good progress. Focusing on two local congressional districts, we are going to give constituents an opportunity to do an online policymaking simulation for a national issue selected by Braver Angels members. The results will be analyzed by Voice of the People to see which policies are recommended—or opposed—by a majority of constituents. The findings will be made publicly available as a report with shareable graphics. The recommendations will then be presented at an open forum to which all participants, our local congressional representatives, and local media will be invited to attend.

Our hope is that through this pilot we will be creating a model for true partnership with our elected representatives by providing a structured process for constituents to inform the legislative process.

Stay tuned for updates and more information on this exciting endeavor.

Here is a summary of social media posts over the past month:

• NPR interview with Elaine Kamarck comparing DOGE to the reinventing government efforts in the 1990s

• Brookings article on size and composition of federal government

• Peter G. Peterson Foundation key charts that provide an excellent overview of the Federal budget

• Voice of the People policymaking simulations - an online process that puts citizens in the shoes of elected officials by simulating the process they go through in making policy decisions

Follow Speak Up for Good Government on Facebook and follow me on LinkedIn and X!

Have a great month.

Newsletter - February 2025

I spent the bulk of my career improving quality and efficiency for a wide range of industries and functional areas. For that reason, the formation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) hits close to home.

I have seen and been a part of many successful quality improvement efforts, and have also seen and been a part of some woeful failures. Successful quality improvement efforts reduce waste and cost, while also increasing customer satisfaction. Experience has shown it's a tricky balance.

There is little debate that our government is living well beyond its means, as evidenced by the huge budget deficits we accrue on an annual basis. Meaningful cost reductions, driven by well-executed efficiency improvements, would be hugely beneficial. In a best-case scenario, efficiency improvements could eliminate as much as 60% of our annual budget deficit! Unfortunately, most efficiency or operational excellence efforts fall far short of this best-case scenario, and many ultimately increase cost and/or reduce the quality of goods and services provided to customers.

I've found that the most successful efficiency improvement efforts involve a systematic approach, where operational processes are thoroughly observed and analyzed, leveraging the expertise of those doing the work. It is also important to engage customers in these efforts to ensure their expectations are taken into account. Working with employees and customers helps "efficiency experts" resist the temptation to jump to conclusions, and prevents them from making impulsive changes that can lead to unintended outcomes.

We are the primary "customers," or benefactors, of our government and its services, so it's reasonable to expect that resulting efficiency improvements should increase our satisfaction.

I have no doubt that the Department of Government Efficiency will provide taxpayers with significant short-term savings, however, the long-term impact of their actions remains to be seen.

This recent article from The Fulcrum puts the work of DOGE into perspective and highlights some of the challenges they'll have in achieving meaningful and lasting efficiency improvements.

I am paying very close attention to the work of DOGE, and I strongly encourage others to do the same.

Here are some related resources on this topic:

• Federal spending and budget deficit

• Executive order establishing the Department of Government Efficiency

• Typical savings from Improving Operational Efficiency

• Efficiency vs. Quality

• Ten Reasons Operational Excellence Deployments Fail

• Five Mistakes to Avoid When Implementing Operational Efficiency

• Cost Cutting that Makes You Stronger

• What is Lean Sigma? Definition and Benefits

• Six Sigma and Process Improvement in Government

• Working Smart for Environmental Protection

• Improving Service Delivery in Government with Lean Six Sigma

• Transforming Government Performance through Lean Management

• Iowa Division of Data, Planning, and Improvement

• Lean Six Sigma Methodology Helps Save City $3 million in Costs

Have a great month!