Governmental Reform.

LABI encourages the enactment and enforcement of state laws and policies that are honest, fair, transparent and responsible, allowing all citizens to participate in electoral and governmental processes. 

Major Issues.

Constitutional Amendments

LABI Position: A constitutional convention or legislative referendum will be required to amend key articles and provisions within the Louisiana Constitution to permit changes that will facilitate the policy reforms promoted by Louisiana’s business community to advance economic development and prosperity for the state and its citizens. Support legislative actions that amend or allow amendment of the state constitution as necessary to enable such reform. 

Fiscal Transparency

LABI Position: Support efforts to increase the transparency of state and local government operations and enhance public online access to information.

Government Efficiency

LABI Position: In an effort to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse, support efforts to operate state government in a more efficient, cost-effective and fiscally responsible manner, including privatizing state government services where feasible, and the utilization of technology.

Current Issues.

Boards and Commissions: Support legislation that would require public or quasi-public boards and commissions to adhere to the same legal requirements and accountability standards as other public bodies. Also, support legislation to limit the number of terms a person can serve on certain boards and commissions. Support legislation to promote experience and expertise by allowing individuals to serve on boards and commissions and to recuse themselves when an issue arises involving a conflict of interest.

Civil Service: Support legislation to reform civil service to achieve maximum efficiency in state government.

Elections: Support legislation to reduce the number of election dates to maximize voter turnout.

Ethics:
• Support the retention of an appropriate board or boards governing ethics for elected officials, public employees and lobbyists, and support the enforcement of existing laws. Monitor the activity and decisions of this board, particularly regarding their effects on the business community and the election process.

• Strengthen enforcement of Louisiana’s ethics law regarding campaign finance, lobbyist disclosure and implementation and enforcement of the Code of Ethics as it relates to public employees and elected officials.  Support storing ethics data in a form that is easily exportable for public consumption.

•  Support retention of a strong campaign finance disclosure law, including provisions to require full disclosure of all campaign contributions. Support the current rights of citizens and corporations to contribute to political campaigns, both individually and as legally constituted committees.

•  Support retention of a strong lobbyist disclosure law.

•  Actively oppose any unjustified weakening of the current ethics law.

Government Appointments: Support efforts to change appointed governmental positions and certain elected positions to professional positions.

Investigative Independence: Support efforts to ensure that the Ethics Board and Inspector General have the independence and focus to investigate and enforce substantive ethics laws against conflicts, abuse and corruption in state government.

Little Hatch Act: Support “Little Hatch Act” provisions in the state constitution that prohibit state and local classified civil service employees from participating in certain partisan political activities while so employed.

Public Access to Legislators: Oppose any efforts to limit and/or restrict public access to legislators and/or House and Senate chambers.

Public Meetings/Public Records: Oppose efforts to weaken the Open Meetings Law, the Public Records Law, the Election Code, the Public Bid Law and the Local Government Budgeting Act; and protect the rights of individuals and organizations to full and open participation in governmental processes. Support extending the period to which a recorded public meeting is archived for public access and legislative intent.

Retirement Systems: Support consolidation and reform of state retirement systems, including elimination of early retirement after 20 years of service regardless of age for future state employees. Oppose any expansion of benefits or coverage to help ensure fiscally responsible funding and actuarial soundness of Louisiana’s public retirement systems. Support legislation that would raise the retirement age and/or increase the years of service needed for new state employees to retire. Support the use of surplus funds to pay down the unfunded accrued liability of the state retirement systems.

State Contracts: Support strengthening existing law that prohibits awarding state contracts for goods and services to any public official or his/her immediate family.

Term Limits: Support legislation to limit the terms of all statewide elected officials and the judicial branch. Continue to support the existing law that limits the number of terms a person can serve in the Louisiana Senate and House of Representatives.

Ongoing Policy.

Initiative: Maintain Louisiana’s current referendum system, which requires that voters approve all changes to Louisiana’s constitution.

Judicial Reform: Support programs and legislation to foster judicial excellence, including, but not limited to, consolidating districts and court functions.

Office of the Inspector General: Support efforts to protect the existence of the Office of Inspector General in state law.

Contacts.

Brian Davis serves as Director of the Governmental Reform Council. In this capacity, his responsibilities include all governmental reform issues that impact Louisiana’s business community. 

Brian Davis

Director, Small Business Council, LABI
briand@labi.org

John Overton

Chair, Governmental Reform Council
Turn Key Solutions
john@tks.com

By: Stephen Waguespack

In 1994, after two years under the Clinton administration and decades more toiling as the minority party in Congress, Republicans decided they needed a plan to better communicate with the American people and detail the specific actions they promised to take if they assumed leadership in Congress in the upcoming elections. They suspected their ideas would resonate with a country growing more conservative by the day, but they knew the President’s bully pulpit and rapport with the mainstream media made it difficult to get those ideas heard by voters around the country. They knew they needed a workaround. Thus, the Contract with America was born.

Roughly two months before the 1994 elections, Republicans released the Contract with America. This document promised specific reforms if Republicans were put in charge of Congress, including a balanced budget amendment, higher voting thresholds for tax increases, small business tax relief, ethics improvements and systemic reforms to the legal system, social security and welfare. The document was well drafted, broadly distributed and resonated with the American people. The result was an electoral tidal wave where Republicans took back the majority for the first time in 40 years, winning 54 House seats and nine Senate seats. Two years later President Bill Clinton was re-elected in large part by rejecting his more liberal agenda and instead championing many of the reforms put forth by Republicans in the Contract with America.

Fast forward to today.

In 2018, many Louisiana voters are frustrated with where things stand but are somewhat lost on who to follow, what to believe and where to go for answers. A fiscal cliff narrative that pummeled us for nearly three years has been addressed, but our future is no less uncertain. Taxes and spending have gone up significantly since 2015, while wages, family income and our economy have struggled to find consistency and growth. Medicaid is up roughly $4 billion in three years and now covers roughly 1.7 million of our people. Our transportation project backlog is more than $13 billion and our schools still rank at the bottom of most national categories. Nearly 27,000 people left Louisiana over the past year while our fellow southern states are seeing growth and business expansions. Louisiana needs a new plan in which our people can believe.

While old and new problems mount, too many politicians of both political parties remain focused on the same old spin and blame we have seen for generations. It’s always the other guy’s fault and somebody else’s duty to pay for everything. That game no longer makes sense, and the need for a new agenda that works for the people of Louisiana is paramount. It’s time for a Contract with Louisiana.

A Contract with Louisiana must be one that can be supported by any voter or politician willing to put the needs of the people before the wants of government. It should emphasize personal responsibility, smarter government and sustainably solving problems. A new agenda must appeal to voters of all ages and political parties. Above all else, it should be more than just pumping money into the same old strategy that has failed for as long as we can remember. In my opinion, a Contract with Louisiana should look something like this:

1. Louisiana Needs a Constitutional Convention: Our long and convoluted constitution has been amended 186 times in 44 years and makes it virtually impossible to fundamentally reform government. Local autonomy is severely restricted and trampled by big government from the State Capitol. Far too many dedicated funds, local subsidies and overlapping boards and bureaucracies force dollars away each year from priorities like education and health care.
2. Louisiana Needs Medicaid Reform: According to a recent study by the PEW Foundation, the percentage of Medicaid funding has roughly doubled since 2000, more than any other state during that time. The Louisiana Legislative Auditor has testified that up to 25 percent of adult Medicaid recipients’ income does not match their tax records, indicating they may not be eligible for the program. People who qualify and warrant assistance should receive it, but those cheating the system must be stopped. Sensible reforms such as work or training requirements, co-pays and accountability provisions to ensure dollars are not being wasted must be implemented.
3. Louisiana Needs Pension Reform: Our unfunded pension costs are estimated to be $19 billion, which represents more than 10 percent of state personal income and ranks 12th among states. Additionally, workers today demand a mobile and agile system. In fact, one state pension system estimated that 70 percent of current members would not stay long enough to receive a benefit. These costs are crippling our school and university budgets, and these plans are not meeting the needs of workers. A reform that keeps promises to current workers but makes pension plans for future workers more usable and affordable is a must.
4. Louisiana Needs Continued Education Reform: Louisiana’s K-12 system has ranked as one of the lowest performing systems for generations. Too many families are forced to send their children to failing schools or to pay out of pocket for private schools. Dumping more money into the same system year after year has not made a difference. Louisiana must embrace reforms that save money and put families first. Louisiana should make better use of existing dollars by expanding school choice to let more parents decide where their child goes to school. Louisiana should embrace neighborhood schools to increase parental involvement, require that more current investments go to the classroom rather than bureaucracy and dedicate a portion of the local share of the new internet sales collections to merit pay for teachers. 
5. Louisiana Needs Legal Reform: Our car insurance rates are second highest in the nation, placing huge costs on small businesses and working families across the state. Sensible reforms like lifting the seat belt gag order and raising the jury trial threshold can put us in line with other states and help lower these costs. We are losing oil and gas investment to areas like West Texas and Pennsylvania. Stopping the unique and excessive lawsuit culture against these job-creating industries can lift wages and attract new jobs.
6. Louisiana Needs Economic Reform: Tax reform must once again mean removing exemptions and deductions to lower tax rates, rather than just political spin to justify tax hikes and spending increases. Additionally, workforce preparation must improve. Too many employers cite a difficulty hiring workers who can read/write, have good soft skills and are drug-free. This is a sad indictment of the state of our workforce. We must advance efforts to expand early education, accelerate the flagship agenda at LSU, prioritize community college investments and focus college funding on STEM and other workforce-related fields. Additionally, efforts to better treat and train incarcerated low-level offenders will help reduce recidivism and expand job growth.
7. Louisiana Needs Infrastructure Reform: Baton Rouge needs a new bridge. So does Lake Charles. Other bridges and roads must be improved throughout rural Louisiana. I-49 South must be improved to promote economic growth and community safety. Public transportation in many of our cities is rife with cost and ridership problems. Our ports need investments to compete with other states, and our coastal areas need more action on restoration and less talk. The right plan to fund the right projects must be developed and brought to a vote of the people. This plan must include public/private partnerships, embrace innovative technologies such as ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft and marry any requests for new revenue with strong accountability on where those dollars will go. Taxpayers will not invest in any plan they do not trust.
8. Louisiana Needs Government Reform: Since the 1920’s, the State Capitol has been too powerful. That must change. The subsidies must shrink, and taxation should stay local as much as possible. The size of state government must shrink, and local governments should step up to be more solution oriented. State agencies and many of the services they provide must be combined to be more efficient and affordable. More of these state services must depend on technology rather than buildings, people, bureaucracies and pensions to deliver them. Personal responsibility based in local control must become the new mantra instead of every man a king, compliments of the state.

This is a contract Louisiana needs, and it is not relevant to any one party or region. Voters want to believe in something, but spin and sound bites won’t cut it anymore. They want a plan. They want a promise. They want a contract. It’s time to give them one.

By: Stephen Waguespack

A few months ago, a special session was called by the governor to raise new taxes that would have replaced expiring taxes. It ended without resolution. This week, the regular session begins to show signs of wrapping up to leave ample time for a second special session to try it all over again.

The new fiscal year begins July 1st, and for the second year in a row, there are more questions than answers at this point on what will be taxed, funded, cut and reformed in this year’s budget. The five special sessions over the last two years focused on taxes and spending have come and gone, with many of the same options as the only ones on the table.

There is a large coalition supporting legislation to call for a constitutional convention to help bring sanity to this process. It would create a framework to put people across Louisiana in charge of reviewing our constitution, recommending changes and sending that document straight to the people for an up or down vote. It died this week on the floor of the House of Representatives, yet another victory for those who benefit most from the top-heavy governing system we have had since the 1920s. The main argument against a constitutional convention is that it is just too risky.

Too risky? How can it be riskier than what we have done in Louisiana for generations?

Many of the challenges and proposed “solutions” faced by Louisiana have been around for as long as any of us can remember. Check some of the old editorials from your local paper and reports from the Public Affairs Research Council (PAR), and you will see that many substantive debates of the past are the same ones taking place today.

In Louisiana, it seems the players change from time to time, but the game remains the same.

Once again, we’re faced with a budget locked up by dedications and obligatory spending, restricting our ability to use current dollars for priorities like education and health care. However, bills attempting to undedicate many of these funds and make existing dollars open to annual oversight get gutted and killed every year.

We know our legal climate is one of the worst in the country. In fact, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform ranked it 51st in the country this year (even behind the District of Columbia). Experts repeatedly note our legal climate contributes to high insurance rates and discourages certain industries from investing here. However, legislation to reform our legal system is mischaracterized and shelved each year.

Very few people in this state like our tax code. The collection of sales taxes is complicated, and many exemptions and credits have been applied over the years to gloss over the negative economic impact of an uncompetitive tax code. Louisiana’s system forces taxpayers to send most of their hard-earned dollars to the same Capitol that has struggled to balance its books for decades rather than keep more of these dollars locally, like Southern peers such as Texas, Florida and Tennessee. Those states do not have an income tax but somehow have more stable economies, better infrastructure and higher achievement from educational systems. It seems a new approach more dependent on local control and less dependent on state subsidies is at least worth considering.

Louisiana’s government pension plans are in obvious need of modernization. They are just not working for today’s workforce, and they are proving costly for taxpayers. One of the pension systems even took the lead in suggesting a new hybrid approach this year, one to provide security for employees and a modern plan for new workers that better met their needs. It was a good compromise backed by a diverse coalition. It died in the Senate after the governor came out against it.

There are repeated examples of worthwhile reforms being killed this session quietly.  Ridesharing has become a national phenomenon, changing the way people travel in their communities. Legislation was offered to create a statewide network for companies like Uber and Lyft to expand in Louisiana; it was halted in the Senate. Another bill to create an online database, known as the “LouisianaCheckbook.com,” that would easily show government spending at all levels is also stuck in a Senate Committee.

Louisiana’s problems are complex, as are the solutions we must consider. Holistically reforming our state’s governing system is not an option, it is an absolute necessity. Anyone who disagrees with this statement is simply not paying attention or is trying to maintain a status quo that works for the chosen few at the expense of the many.

Much has been written about the spending and tax debates that dominate our attention, but the sheer number of policy reforms killed this year is probably a better example of just how broken the state Capitol really is.

The annual death of legislation to unlock dedicated funds, simplify the tax code, and reform entitlement programs is no longer a surprise. Unfortunately, you can now add the killing of sensible bills to make government spending more transparent, government pensions more sustainable, insurance more affordable, ridesharing more available and small business licensing more attainable to that list of failed legislation.

While there are plenty of good people trying their best in government, the facts are clear.  Louisiana’s system of government is woefully outdated and needs to be changed. We think a constitutional convention is the best way to get there. For those who don’t, it’s time for them to put their big plan on the table… because the absence of a specific plan is an endorsement of what we have today.

By: Stephen Waguespack

Lost in the countless stories about the silly fights, soap operas and blame game that dominate the State Capitol these days is some credit given to where credit is due.

Some Republicans in the House broke out of their comfort zone to support a partial sales tax extension in the special session…some Democrats are doing the same by supporting some regulatory reform bills in the general session…and a bipartisan group of stakeholders are taking some risk by expressing their support for a constitutional convention to rewrite that document for the first time in 44 years.

Another person that deserves some credit this year is Cindy Rougeau.

Ms. Rougeau is the executive director of the Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System (LASERS) where she administers the retirement plan for state employees. She is known in the Capitol as a smart, aggressive advocate for her members and has traditionally been the lead voice against major efforts to overhaul the defined benefit system. This year, however, she is breaking out of her comfort zone and recommending a new hybrid approach.

The legislation LASERS has proposed, SB 14, is authored by Sen. Barrow Peacock, Chairman of the Senate Retirement Committee.  This bill would establish a mandatory new hybrid retirement plan for rank-and-file state workers hired after January 1, 2020. The hybrid would include both a defined benefit plan with a secure base benefit for employees – that acts like Social Security – and a defined contribution plan to add a level of portability for workers. The bill also allows existing LASERS members hired after July 1, 2006, to make an irrevocable choice to join the new hybrid plan after it is established.

The member contribution to the new plan would be set at eight percent – four percent to the defined benefit component and four percent to the defined contribution component. The state would continue to pay an actuarially determined percent of payroll to the defined benefit component that includes payment toward the existing Unfunded Accrued Liability (UAL) as well as three percent of payroll to the defined contribution component. The members would have individual defined contribution accounts with the ability to manage those accounts. Members would be eligible to retire at age 65, and Cost-of-Living-Adjustments (COLAs) are pre-funded in the new plan at two percent every other year – but only when the system is at least 65 percent funded. In 2032, the actuaries estimate the UAL would be $100 million less in the proposed hybrid plan than it would be under the current plan.

The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) supports SB 14, and I personally commend Ms. Rougeau for taking the bold initiative to propose a well thought-out and actuarially sound compromise to a state challenge.

The Pew Center on the States recently estimated Louisiana’s unfunded pension costs at $19 billion, which represents more than 10 percent of state personal income and ranks the state at #12. The main retirement system for state workers – the LASERS – was 63.7% funded in 2017.

The Louisiana Constitution guarantees a pension to state workers, but many states have already moved away from a defined benefits program to a plan that is more like the private sector that combines a guaranteed benefit of Social Security with a 401(k) or another type of defined contribution plan.

Today’s workforce – in the private and public sector – is more likely to be mobile, agile and interested in pursuing various job opportunities throughout their career. In fact, LASERS research indicates that younger members of the state workforce are leaving the system at increasingly higher rates, and 70 percent of current members will receive no benefit and simply seek a refund of their contributions. The days of 30 years of service with one employer or industry in exchange for a gold watch and guaranteed pension is becoming less common. The market is changing, and commendably LASERS is trying to get ahead of that trend.

Several years ago, the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana estimated the state spent $2 billion on state retirement programs out of a total state budget of $25 billion, noting this “figure well exceeds the state’s general fund appropriation for all state colleges and universities.” Furthermore, LABI estimates that the annual state payment for employer contributions for LASERS increased 80 percent between 2005 and 2018, putting a strain on the budgets of state agencies in an already challenging fiscal climate. The issues are real, and the solutions are complex.

LASERS has offered up a solution that will be more cost-effective to the state and friendlier to the next generation of state workers as well. Like most compromises, it is not perfect and will not be applauded by everyone. However, it is a good faith proposal on their part and for that reason, folks should give them credit where credit is due.

By: Stephen Waguespack

As a dad, one of my duties at home is to be a “fix-it” guy. While I may not be the handiest person out there, I can usually put some “MacGyver-esque” skills to the test and find a solution to a wide range of challenges around the house. I’ve replaced a doorbell, repaired a few windows, laid down some tile, fixed a garage door opener, hung a few ceiling fans and kept an old AC unit running for a few years longer than it ever should have lasted. I can open a wine bottle with a shoe (seriously) and once repaired some reading glasses with a chopstick. You shouldn’t hire me to build your dream home, but I can usually cobble together a workable solution or two for a project around the house when needed.

Having said that, take it from a guy like me, there is no quick fix to what is broken in Louisiana state government. No patch can extend the shelf life of our current system, and no trick can mask its mounting problems. Duct tape and twine have been used to hold this thing together for as long as any of us can remember and the gig is finally up. The only solution is to replace what we have with a whole new model and never look back. It’s time to hit Ctrl+Alt+Del on Louisiana and reboot the boot.

Shortly after being elected Governor in 1928, Huey Long consolidated all the state’s power, patronage, money and assets under his control and leveraged everyone and everything that crossed his path. He expected you to pay respect and homage to him and his crew. The word got out that, in Louisiana, you had to know the right people to get anything done. That reputation still haunts us today.

Over the years, we haven’t deviated all that much from this vision. That “chicken in every pot” mindset is all around us, and far too many good Louisiana people have been brainwashed by the Kingfish’s legacy to think the only way to prosperity is through the well-greased fingers of some political powerbroker in Baton Rouge. It has led to frustratingly low expectations harbored by generations of Louisianans. Other states don’t think like this and neither should we.

Since Huey’s era, we have tried a little bit of everything to no avail. The reign of Edwin Edwards brought in an era of “comedic corruption,” where the shadiness of our officials was usually just laughed off if they gave us a good one-liner and showed us a good time. Reform-minded governors like McKeithen, Roemer and Jindal had their moments but also had their misses. The same goes for nice governors like Treen and Blanco. Mike Foster won with a welding hat. Jimmie Davis won with a song.

In 1973, a Constitutional Convention was held during an era of oil and gas surplus. That convention drafted the document that enshrined much of that Huey Long mindset into a new Constitution, the document by which we live under to this day. Since then, it has been amended 186 times in 44 years. In comparison, the U.S. Constitution has been amended only 27 times in 231 years.

Our constitution locks up much of our state budget to politically connected entities and protects overlapping boards and bureaucracies from reforms. It guarantees funding for a chosen few and designates the state capitol as the unquestioned kingmaker to everything that happens in our great state. The document relegates most local governments to the role of dependent children with good intentions, but they have been conditioned to be addicted to the subsidies and protections divvied out by the state capitol’s politicians.

Who you know has unfortunately been more important than what you know in Louisiana for as long as we can remember and our constitution makes that difficult to change.

Over the decades, a lot of good people have been elected to various offices with the intention of reforming Louisiana. Countless other public servants and staffers go to work each day to do the same. But the harsh reality is that it may be all for naught if we don’t get much more aggressive in changing our governing foundation and get to it quickly.

This past fiscal session was just the latest mess that ended with good people who ran for the right reasons once again blaming each other for all the wrong reasons. The people aren’t our problem. It’s the foundation of political patronage left behind by Huey Long that we have yet to eliminate. It is the legacy of corruption laughed off by Edwin Edwards that we have yet to reject. It is the unfulfilled promise of past reformers that we never fully embraced. And yes, it is a grossly inadequate and outdated constitution that we have refused to replace.

Our sordid history doesn’t have to become our future. It’s time to move on from our “colorful” past and create the better Louisiana we have long deserved. That won’t happen with more of the same. Special sessions, taxes, lawsuits and political patronage may have gotten us here, but no combination of them will ever take us to where we need to go. It’s time to pull out Huey’s model of government by the roots… and that can only happen with a Constitutional Convention.

By: Stephen Waguespack

In the 1970’s, management consultants started using a new metaphor to convince companies they needed to think about their problems and potential solutions in a whole new way. To illustrate their point, they began to use what is called the “nine dot puzzle.”

The puzzle consisted of nine dots, equally arranged in three rows to make a box. The challenge was to connect all the dots using only four lines without letting your pencil leave the paper. The puzzle was difficult at first because most people felt compelled to stay within the box, but it became easy to solve the puzzle once they viewed the challenge differently and drew the lines to go beyond the boundary of the square. Hence, the analogy of “thinking outside the box” was born.

Today, we hear that concept frequently trumpeted by change agents as they describe the approach needed to fix perennial problems.

Edie Weiner, a national expert on the future of the economy, argues that 90% of what is needed to solve most problems is found in the box itself, though most people never see such solutions unless they learn to view problems through “alien eyes.”

She uses the term “alien eyes” because she thinks most people are constrained from seeing solutions right in front of their face due to “educational incapacity.” In this sense, most of us have become so educated on and familiar with our present challenges and situations that it has become almost impossible to predict a different future or solution. In short, we have stared at it so long we can’t see it any other way. Weiner says this is very common behavior and that our lifetime experience and earned knowledge is not only our greatest asset but also our greatest obstacle, restricting our ability to view problems through “alien eyes.”

One great example she uses to illustrate this condition is that of a newborn baby.

A few generations ago, a baby was captivated and energized by simply hearing “coochie-coochie-coo.” When most of today’s adults were younger, a playpen with a mobile and maybe a few stuffed animals were added to entertain us. Babies of today are literally grabbing after their parent’s smartphone at six months old, surfing the web before they hit two years old and riding around town in vehicles watching TV screens on the back of the headrest.

This evolution is easy to see, and it has profoundly changed the world that 21^st century children know to be normal. From day one, they see the world much differently than we adults do. For today’s youth, having everything they need, want or desire easily streamed to them at will is not an evolution. It is an expectation and is essentially just the way the world has always worked for them.

We, adults, fail to see through “alien eyes” just how drastically different the world, or the box in this instance, appears to them. 

For instance, imagine how confused they must be when they begin school and they find themselves in essentially the same type of school system our great-great grandparents largely experienced generations ago. Online content flows daily to handheld devices at any location on the globe (including airplanes), yet we still largely depend on buildings and books to educate kids Monday through Friday. They probably also find it strange that we buy, sell, transfer and trade currency, sports tickets, movie passes, Christmas gifts, groceries and most other products on those same phones, yet government still requires bureaucracies and waiting rooms to methodically process driver’s licenses, government benefits and other necessary documents.

While we adults spend countless hours trying to think outside the box on ways to reform government, our children could probably easily give us some good ideas since they are not yet corrupted by the same “educational incapacity” of the ways things have always been. 

The rapid technological progression of our society and deep connection to this reality by our youth from birth has completely transformed our families, behaviors and economies. 

The private sector has known for years they must evolve or die. Technology demands it. Customers demand it. Investors demand it. Government, on the other hand, has been able to largely avoid this reality thus far…but those days are numbered. This generation may continue to struggle with thinking outside the box to drastically reform government, but the adults of tomorrow growing up during this technological revolution won’t know any other way.