Commentary
During the decades working in the California State Senate, I heard countless variations of, “If only the legislature would pass a law to fix this problem.” Every public policy challenge seems to have a champion ready with the perfect solution; if only those in elected office would listen. H.L. Mencken captured this phenomenon perfectly: “There is always a well-known solution to every human problem—neat, plausible, and wrong.”
There were years where state budget impasses meant government contractors and workers, including me, wouldn’t be paid for months as legislators worked on hasty compromises while ignoring long-term consequences of increasing government largesse….