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Health & Fitness

THROW OUT THE BATHWATER, SAVE THE BABY


Everything that Bill O'Brien touched, scarred the state for years to come. The voters have been deprived of the constitutionally mandated duty of the legislature to oversee government operations, eliminate inefficiency and corruption. They also have the similar duty to make whole those who have been wronged by the state, due to no fault of any government official. This is, in no small part, a result of O'Brien's shenanigans with the now-disdained Committee on Redress of Grievances. That is the language chosen by the framers to define and impose these important responsibilities on our legislators; which has now become a metaphor for all things evil in the State House. I must make a minor confession. Immediately after his election as speaker, I informed O'Brien that I would accept no office, title or appointment from him, well not exactly in those words. About half way through the session, he informed me that I was appointed to that august committee, from which I tendered my resignation on the same day. Wholly unmindful of the abolition of slavery and the Constitutional Amendments following the Civil war, Mr. O'Brien wrote that I could not resign and subject to servitude at his command. I paid no attention.The founders labored under the proper notion that human nature is fallible. We will never achieve a perfect government nor will we ever mete out perfect justice. It is , thus, obvious, that we safeguard against bad laws, inefficient government and injustice; even when all laws are obeyed. Laws are made by humans, and by definition will always be evolving in pursuit of a more just society. With the advent of modern science, and application of modern laws, even now, we convict innocent people, deprive them of their freedom, or property and ruin lives. This happens when the judge, jury, prosecutor, investigators, defense attorneys, and everyone else involved has done nothing wrong, but carried out the law. There would be no remedy for such an injustice, except through the legislature. This is but one example. Government, in old America, could not be held liable. Now, that immunity has been waived by the government in few instances and with specific conditions and limitations. There is still no remedy of any kind when everyone has done their duty, resulting in a wrong to one, or a group of people. States around the country legislatively arrive at a remedy for these wrongs every year. Recently a performance audit was released, which highlighted severe short comings at the State Department of Revenue Administration. There are conscientious, hard working, and resourceful public servants who perform studies and recommend improvements. Some discover significant deficiencies and some not so significant. All are worth a review and legislative response. None is undertaken in New Hampshire, unless the press bring them to the attention of the public. Before these audits and reviews were posted on the internet, I walked into one of the offices where audits are performed. I asked to see all the audits for two departments. The civil servants were delighted to know someone was going to read their work. The were excited and told me to come back for more. I did. My colleagues at the legislature had no interest in them until the newspapers published their content. We had no committee charged with overseeing the government operations, yet we paid talented , committed servants to tell us what was wrong with what we were doing.My friends, Democrats and Republicans alike were ready to restart the business of oversight. 2011 was the wrong year. Our legislature has a responsibility to perform these vital functions properly. We must allow them to do so. We must also not allow them to make a caricature of an essential constitutional function as Mr. O'Brien did. The quest for a more just society and an efficient government can not be abandoned. At the same time , we must be mindful of the power of the oversight function and not allow overreach, grand standing, or meddling by our elected officials. New Hampshire voters are well informed and know the difference. I trust them.

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