Example: Is Ref. C cash being spent as promised?
Is Ref. C cash being spent as promised?
Denver Post 9/14/2007
By Wade Buchanan, The Bell Policy Center
In this op-ed, Wade Buchanan, executive director of the Bell Policy Center, describes to Coloradans how a recently-passed budget measure, Referendum C, has succeeded in stabilizing public structures in their state in the short term. And, as the state anticipates the expiration of the Referendum C’s “timeout” provisions, Buchanan urges Coloradans to begin a serious discussion about the kind of state they want Colorado to be in the long-term.
Buchanan’s use of the public structures language allows him to discuss the many important functions of the structures created by government that help Colorado function. He does this by introducing this concept early in his discussion to set up a productive perception of government that helps to inoculate against the default negative frames often triggered by the word “government” itself. We are not suggesting that the “word” government must be avoided entirely, rather our research demonstrated that the public’s stereotypes about government are so entrenched and negative that it is best to introduce the concept by using public structures or other language the evokes a more concrete and vivid understanding of the systems and structures that make up our government. By using the public structures concept, Buchanan is also able to talk about the impact of budget cuts on structures and systems that are vital to the state’s economy, rather than simply giving a litany of cuts to individual programs. Buchanan also purposefully focuses on the future, asking Coloradans to consider what kind of state they want Colorado to be. Talking about Government research showed that Americans value government’s role as a long-term planner and see planning as a unique responsibility of our public sector.