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What Does a Statesman Look Like?

The term "politician" isn’t a popular one, even with politicians. Most people would agree that to be labeled a "statesman" is a much higher compliment — and that we need fewer of the former and more of the latter. There’s a general sense that statesmen lift us up, while politicians let us down. This column will seek to foster a climate which will produce more statesmen and fewer politicians, so let’s begin with some observations about what distinguishes one from the other.

Statesmen are a big cut above politicians, who seek office for thrills or for power or because they like the attention it brings them. Some politicians are better than others, but statesmen rise above mere politics, that meat grinder of principles. The clever politician knows how to manipulate power for personal advantage, but the statesman’s allegiance is to loftier objectives.

Statesmen don’t seek public office for personal gain or attention. Like George Washington, they often are people who take time out from productive careers of accomplishment to temporarily serve the public. They don’t have to work for government because that’s all they know how to do. They stand for a principled vision, not for what they think citizens will fall for. When a statesman gets elected, he doesn’t forget the public-spirited citizens who sent him to office and become a mouthpiece for the permanent bureaucracy or some special interest that greased his campaign.

Because they seek the truth, statesmen are more likely to do what’s right than what may be politically popular at the moment. You know where they stand because they say what they mean and they mean what they say. They do not engage in class warfare, race-baiting or in other divisive or partisan tactics that pull people apart. They do not buy votes with tax dollars. They don’t make promises they can’t keep or intend to break. They take responsibility for their actions. A statesman doesn’t try to pull himself up by dragging somebody else down, and he doesn’t try to convince people they’re victims just so he can posture as their savior.

When it comes to managing public finances, statesmen prioritize. They don’t behave as though government deserves an endlessly larger share of other people’s money. They exhibit the courage to cut less important expenses to make way for more pressing ones. They don’t try to build empires. Instead, they keep government within its proper bounds and trust in what free and enterprising people can accomplish. Politicians think that they’re smart enough to plan other people’s lives; statesmen are wise enough to understand what utter folly such arrogant attitudes really are.

Have you ever felt that in spite of a long campaign and lots of speeches, you learned essentially nothing from a particular candidate? That one was a politician. I prefer the statesman: the man or woman of substance who, win or lose, had the courage to lay it out straight.

Politicians are characters, but statesmen have character. A statesman is a man or woman of integrity, honesty and candor. You actually learn something good from what he says and how he conducts himself. When a politician leaves office, he’s largely forgotten. When a statesman departs, we know we’ve lost something.

Michigan doesn’t suffer from a shortage of politicians. First and foremost, it needs a citizenry that is vigilant about the nature of government and its proper role in a free society of responsible adults. That’s the sort of citizenry that then has the wisdom to produce statesmen.

Lawrence W. Reed is president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.

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Competitive Contracting at Public Schools

MEA Committed to Defeating Privatization

MEA committed to defeating privatization

Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from a letter written by the executive officers of the Michigan Education Association, the state’s largest public school employees union, regarding privatization of noninstructional services at public schools. It was published in the Letter to Members section of the Spring 2007 issue of MEA Voice. It may be viewed in its entirety at www.mea.org/voice/spring2007/Sp07-complete.pdf.

"…We’ve witnessed in Michigan an unprecedented trend toward privatization in our public schools. School boards are firing dedicated school support employees and then hiring private, for-profit companies to provide essential support services, or threatening to do so.

"And though millions of public dollars are at stake in this privatization game, there’s little public scrutiny after districts decide to outsource some of their operations.

"Do promised savings materialize? Do private contractors provide the same level of service? Do students suffer when employee turnover rates double, or when workers don’t care about the tasks they’ve been assigned to do?

"And if you think that privatization threatens school support personnel only, think again. In the past few years, school boards have voted to subcontract building principals and other administrators. In some districts, substitute teachers are now leased from for-profit companies, as are school counselors and psychologists.

"And don’t forget about public charter schools, where management companies have received millions of dollars over the years to supply classroom teachers.

"MEA is committed to helping members save their jobs because it’s in the best interest of students, parents and communities. We’re putting more resources into fighting privatization than ever. We are committed to partnering with you to beat privatization. …"

Who will speak for me?

Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from a letter regarding privatization of noninstructional services written by a Grand Rapids member of the MEA to the MEA Voice. It was published in the VOICEmail section of the Fall 2007 issue. The entire text of the letter may be viewed at www.mea.org/voice/fall2006/Fall2006-complete.pdf.

"As a teacher in the Grand Rapids EA, I have watched privatization force its way into our schools.

"I have seen this issue spread to the county and throughout the state. Some members have sat back and done nothing because they believed that it did not affect them directly.

"Let me remind educators in these situations of the famous quote by Pastor Martin Niemoller, a victim of the Nazis. Niemoller spoke of the Nazis coming for the communists, Jews, trade unionists, and Catholics, and he said: I did not speak up because I was not in these groups. Then, when they came for me, there was no one left to speak up.

"In the future, will we look back and say: ‘In my district, first they came to privatize the bus drivers, and I didn’t speak up because I was not a bus driver. Then, they came to privatize the custodians, and I didn’t speak up because I was not a custodian. Then, they came for the substitute teachers, the food service workers, the secretaries and the parapros, and I didn’t speak up because I was not one of these. Then, they came for me — and by that time no one was left to speak up for me.’?"

The Governor and the Private Sector

Editor’s note: The following is excerpted from an MEA interview of Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The interview was published in the Fall 2006 issue of the MEA Voice, and it can be viewed at www.mea.org/voice/fall2006/Fall2006-complete.pdf.

MEA: "In many school districts, employees are losing their jobs to privatization. How do you view such decisions — and what is your understanding of the impact that privatization has on the local/state economies?"

Granholm: "In state government, we have found that privatization is much less than it’s cracked up to be. In fact, we have seen economic savings and increased efficiency by bringing work back to the state workforce after the previous administration outsourced it. I have urged other units of government to think twice before they jump on the privatization bandwagon — the public sector can outperform the private sector with the right supports and management."

Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.