Democratic Town Committee of New Canaan, CT

About this series: Each month, three New Canaan Democrats write essays on a common topic.  You can search for “3NCD” to find them all.  We present these to advance the public debate on important issues and to present a range of opinion within the Democratic party in town.

Essay 1
Brace yourself for an increase in property taxes. The first read of the New Canaan 2012/2013 budget suggests an 8 to 10% increase in spending not including an additional $18 to $20m in debt. Taxes are not fun. Making tough budget choices are even less fun. But if we are to have any success in reducing these numbers, we will have to ask ourselves which of these requests are needs vs. wants.

Very clearly, there are certain Town services which are needs including police, fire and health & welfare. Although we might argue how much of these services we need or to what standard we require, I think we can all agree they should be funded by general account taxes. Alternatively, there are other services which are more clearly wants, including Waveny Pool, Paddle Tennis Courts, dog parks and brick lined sidewalks. And with great credit to generous private donors and user-fee patrons – I think we have arrived at a good private/public balance on how to fund these things.

New Canaan collects ~$120m in revenues. Over 90% of these revenues are property taxes, the rest are user fees, conveyance taxes, parking permits, etc. Very gradually, and very appropriately, the town has increased the proportionate amount user-based revenues vs. property-tax revenues. User based revenues include pool fees, paddle court fees, parking fees, Waveny House rental fees, a surcharge to homes that have central sewage and even an occasional consideration of a surcharge for homes that get town-provided leaf collection.

Where the discussion becomes tough, really tough, is around services which are somewhere in-between needs and wants including the Library, Lapham Community Center, and EMS services. These services are not uniformly used by all residents but are heavily funded by the Town. Granted, having some sort of EMS facility is a statutory requirement and having a Library is almost a requirement of civility and culture. But the question remains, to what degree should these services depend on private funding (donors and user-fees) vs. general taxpayer supported

I am not suggesting the current model needs to change; nor are we currently facing some type of budget crisis. But I do believe we need to constantly reassess needs vs. wants. Planet Moon spendthrifts want everything for everybody including endless sidewalks, gilded libraries and valet medical transport but it does not require much vision to see the day that the Great Recession and the household de-leveraging that began in 2008 will continue for some time. Likewise, does not require much vision to see that a revenue stream that is principally based on property values is strained. The need vs. wants conversation –and how to pay for it- is looming.

click to enlarge graphs

Essay 2
Should public services other than fire and police which concern public safety such as education, library, and volunteer EMS or parks for that matter be paid for by the town i.e. by the taxes of all residents or should they be subsidized on some formula basis that involves use.  For example we do not pay to use the park but we do pay to use the pool during the summer.  

Perhaps, before answering this question, we define what we mean by “public.” Who is the public? Webster’s defines public when used as a noun, as “the people as a whole: populace” and secondarily as “a group of people having common interests.” If used as an adjective, such as in the “public interest,” then it is defined as “of or relating to, or affecting the people as a whole or serving the community.”

Herein lays the problem, I think. We imagine ourselves as being a member of the populace or public however within that populace we recognize that there are conflicting publics- groups of people sharing different common interests. For towns, these two definitions can create a dueling relationship and sometimes antagonistic relationships regarding usage of town services and the definitions of community. To understand how our town services serve our populace, we need to recognize how these services benefit our town and the communities within our town. And, I think we need to appreciate and define the value added benefits of living in a community which provides services to everyone equally regardless of usage versus a community which charges for public services based on usage. Furthermore, we need to define which services do indeed provide a value added benefit to the community-at-large, and then rank them in some order.

For example, the need for public safety trumps any discussion of community benefit analysis. We all willingly pay taxes to support and maintain the services of a competent fire department and local police force. I would argue that a Volunteer EMS teams also falls under the umbrella of public safety as it provides a health safety net to each of us in an emergency situation where a visit to the emergency room may not be necessary or perhaps more importantly could be necessary and their proximity and response time is a decisive factor. Could we call an ambulance – yes but most insurance policies will not pay for an ambulance unless you are taken to the hospital and oftentimes a hospital visit is not necessary. This is a health service provided by local citizens to their neighbors on a volunteer basis – none of us can predict whether we will have an emergency situation (just like none of us can predict if we will have a house fire) but we can be comforted that some of our tax dollars go towards subsidizing this service. Seven years ago, my 79 year old mother who was visiting from Florida, felt faint while walking with her grandchildren on Elm Street during the sidewalk sales. She had become dehydrated. We were grateful that there was an EMS team to take her pulse and blood pressure.

What of other town services such as our parks, Lapham community center, television station and library? How should these services be evaluated? I have never used the Lapham community center which though open to all adult members of the community is the town’s defacto senior center. Should the town subsidize a center that is primarily used by one segment of our community and closed on the week-ends? The town does charge for the usage of the pool during the summer but the charge is seasonal, relatively minimal and used to offset the cost of maintenance for a specific benefit to specific town consumers – swimmers. Following this logic, I suppose one could argue that dog owners should purchase a town pet license that grants them access to our dog park. The Center is located in Waveny Park which is used by our young people, families, and dog owners. I do not think it is wise to begin assessing services based on usage by particular segments of our population as we risk destroying the purpose of having these services in the first place – the enhancement of our community. Haven’t we all decided to live in New Canaan because our town has parks and a community center for its seniors and a teen center for its youth? These services contribute to the vitality of our community by creating public spaces where we can meet and gather together not as separate groups sharing common interests but as particular members of our town – the town we all take pride in because we are a community.

The problem is our town’s financial resources are limited and our tax base is stretched. No one wants to see their taxes increase unless …the town can justify that the taxes we pay are going towards improving, enhancing and adding value to the town. As taxpayers, we realize this value in the added benefits these services bring to the property values of our homes- people want to move into our town because of the services our town offers.

It seems to me that if we are going to discuss charging for so-called public services, then we must determine how to rank which public services add the most value to our town’s future as it relates to qualify of life for its residents and the capacity to attract new residents. We need to understand which public services preserve and sustain our sense of community and how those services are valued by those who wish to join our community- the factors which enhance our property values. Let’s be clear on what we treasure and not destroy it inadvertently by marginalizing our community.

Essay 3
I confess to a certain level of support for a “pay as you go” approach to municipal budgeting and – in general – think that imposing user fees on certain town sponsored activities (pool, lawn and paddle tennis permits, use of the transfer station, metered parking, are examples) is not without merit. To extend that approach however, as some have suggested, to services such as the Ambulance Corp and the Library is difficult to understand. I think philosophically it is ill advised, from a management perspective it would be hard to implement, and from a revenue standpoint (after administrative costs are considered) would most likely be trivial. Worse, it would be another example of stratifying New Canaan’s citizens by income, further eroding our sense of community which is essential to maintaining a thriving town.

The Roman poet Juvenal, in ruminating on what people should most desire, declared “Mens sana in corpore sano” (a healthy mind in a health body) as a worthy aspiration. Imposing user fees on the Library or Ambulance Corp. would make us 0 for 2 in old Juvi’s book

Both the Ambulance Corp and the Library have fairly robust fund raising activities which are well supported by New Canaan residents and both rely quite heavily on hundreds and hundreds of hours contributed by many, many volunteers. It is at least worth wondering what might happen to that financial support and volunteer activity should we turn those services into a fee-for-access proposition. Finally, fees of this type disproportionately impact those most reliant upon them but least able to pay. I suppose this would be OK if we wanted to turn New Canaan into a gated community but last I checked none of us want to live that life style (or otherwise we already would.)

I agree that we have a financial challenge. Town costs (much of them uncontrollable – at least in the short to medium term) are rising at rates faster than either the growth in the grand list or (given our reliance on the financial services industry) median family income. This does not bode well. Clearly we cannot assume that there is an inexhaustible ability of home owners to pay ever increasing property taxes and hard choices will have to be made. Perhaps at some point the town will need to reduce, or even eliminate its direct financial support to many “quasi-public” services, or explore consolidating selected essential services with neighboring towns, and even perhaps look to reduce them. This is a structural problem, exacerbated by our changing demographic profile. Fixing it will require unpleasant structural fiscal re-engineering.

It won’t be solved by ill-advised nickel and dime user fees.

When life gives you crazies, make crazyade:

New Hampshire Fact: @BarackObama has more campaign offices in NH than all the #GOP field combined! #firedupreadytogo

— Richard A. Fowler (@Richardafowler) January 10, 2012

Some details from this week’s jobs report:

Manufacturing: UP
Retail: UP
Transportation: UP
Construction: UP
Health Care: UP
Leisure and Hospitality: UP
Government employment: DOWN

This report is no outlier.  Overall in 2011, the private sector has added 1.6 million jobs while government employment has fallen by about 280,000.  Much of that is at the local and state level (and too many of them are teachers).  But federal employment alone was down over 2011 as well.

I never really know what right-wingers are specifically referring to when they rail against “big” government (Can you put it on a scale? Can you measure its height?) But if the measure of “Bigness” is “Number of government employees,” that figure is way down under President Obama.  In Reagan’s first three years government employment fell 2.2%.  In Obama’s first three years: down 2.6%.  You tell me who should get credit for shrinking the “size” of government more.  By the way, if the measure of “Bigness” is “proportion of GDP paid in taxes,” well, that’s at an historic low, too.

Democrats are fixing a giant mess left behind by Republican Presidency and Congress that ran up huge unpaid bills, added tons of government jobs and shifted the tax burden onto the middle class from 2001 to 2009.  And they’re doing it with a decidedly smaller government.

Interesting…

I just learned that tonight’s GOP Iowa caucus voting will be done by secret ballot. Iowa Democrats vote publicly; particpants move to a corner or area of the room designated for a given candidate’s supporters. Everyone knows where the Democrats stand (literally).

As an interesting parallel, Connecticut Democratic Party rules stipulate that voting at party events is to be done publicly. When we elect delegates to a convention, or when those delegates select a candidate to endorse, it’s by show of hands (or some other method that lets everyone know who voted for whom). The Republicans have no such rule.

I suppose Iowa Republicans might be a little ashamed of their choices. That’s understandable. If I had to choose between the phony, the homophobes, the conspiracy theorist, Captain Oops and the serial ethics violator, I might want to hide, too.

About this series: Each month, three New Canaan Democrats choose a topic and each write an essay.  This month the topic is: “What should New Canaan be thankful for?“

Essay 1

In the spirit of the season we decided that, this month, we would forgo our traditional advocacy approach and instead talk about what makes this town such a treasure – the town’s gifts to us – if you will.

It’s a long list. We have wonderful parks like Mead, Kiwanis, Waveny and Irwin; a great cultural institution in our Library; scores of community activity and educational programs in The Nature Center, Lapham Center, and The Historical Society; important town-wide traditions such as The Family Fourth, caroling on God’s Acre, the Memorial Day parade and service, the May Fair at St. Mark’s, the ice cream social at the Historical Society; amateur theater at the Power House, artists in residence at Silvermine; and myriad town resources such as Vine Cottage, Waveny Care Center, and the New Canaan Inn. We have more youth sports teams, scouting programs, and Indian Princesses than you can shake a stick, bat, merit badge, soccer ball, or teepee at. Our schools (and students) continue to make us proud and our police, fire, EMT’s, and CERT first responders continue to earn our admiration and thanks. We have our own Post Office, movie house, train station and broad ranging culinary opportunities and a downtown that, after a snow fall, looks like something straight from Currier and Ives. Town employees are, overwhelmingly, competent and professional with a sincere desire to serve our citizens while our merchants and store owners are welcoming and obviously committed to our town’s well being. Town Government is certainly vibrant as it wrestles with all the competing (and sometimes conflicting) demands and challenges we citizens place before it, but all-in-all, it does so with a sense of openness and dedication that does each of us proud.

Looking at this list I am sure that you could add literally scores of other important and noteworthy organizations, associations, clubs, facilities, and groups that each in their own way contribute to the special and remarkable place we call home. But, in my view, by far the most important gift that New Canaan gives to us is actually something that New Canaan itself has received from past and current generations of residents – the civic spirit of volunteerism. The idea that individual citizens working together can “get something done”, and contribute to the town in ways larger than themselves.

That list I gave you of all the things that help make our town so special exists only because of the thousands and thousands of hours of hard work that the town’s hundreds and hundreds of volunteers contribute – from serving on boards, commissions, and committees all the way to working on the annual “Clean Your Mile” day, from going to the Board of Education meetings after you get off Metro North to cooking hot dogs at the May Fair, from taking CERT training to delivering Meals-on-Wheels and on and on.

In the end perhaps that IS the best gift that New Canaan can give us – the chance to make a difference and be part of our community.

Happy Holidays

Essay 2

For me, this is the season of Giving. Christians celebrate the birth of Christ with reflection, joy and the sharing of that joy in prayer and song. Jews celebrate a miracle at the end of a historic battle with games, songs and sharing a symbolic meal. Over time, and it doesn’t really matter when, a tradition of gift giving has developed around these holidays. Since we live in a capitalist society where we are taught to look for market opportunities, is it any wonder that businesses have exploited our desire to share with opportunities to buy, buy, and buy. So, perhaps the first thing we should be grateful for (those of us who still have some purchasing power), as we lament the loss of meaning in the season and lambast the rampant commercialism, is that we are able to put food on our tables, purchase a tree or candles for a Menorah, provide tokens for our families and support the retail economy.

Then, and quickly, we need to step back, to open our eyes and look beyond ourselves to those in our midst who need us and to reach out to those around us whose lives have become clouded by circumstances or whose means despite all their hard work is still not enough to provide them with the basic necessities or perhaps leaves them in a perpetual state of emergency. And, most importantly, we need to remind others, to do the same. Let us become proselytizers of the adage, “Be kind for everyone you meet is carrying a heavy burden.”

At this time of year in particular, we are being beseeched to extend a gift whether monetarily, materially or personally by a variety of well deserving charitable organizations. Perhaps you are overwhelmed by so many demands. Over fifty years ago, Eleanor Roosevelt reminded us in her essay on “Learning to be Useful,” that there are others whose needs may be less dramatic but no less real who are within our reach – people whom we see every day but may not know intimately to whom a word of encouragement or understanding or helping hand is a beacon of hope. This is not a random act of kindness – it is instead a more deliberate and thought out extension of generosity derived from empathy. Remember the stranger in your midst.

As Democrats, we need to remind those who have forgotten, that despite our grievances with our government it still serves a legitimate purpose in safeguarding the public and providing us with needed services, which is why we pay taxes. Our free market economy has enabled many in our community to accumulate wealth beyond their wildest dreams and it is only fair that those who have benefited the most should contribute more in taxes than those whose incomes are far less. Tax reform is needed but what is drastically needed is a sense of shared sacrifice. Let us remind each other that we are stronger when we pull together.

Isn’t it time we engage in meaningful, constructive and civil discussions with one another about our future as a family, community and nation? Let us remember to be grateful for the First Amendment and to remind others to be vigilant in its protection for without it we wouldn’t be able to share our differences of opinion with our political leaders, between ourselves and within our political parties. Let us give each other this season, a gift of active listening that endures throughout the coming year and years ahead.

On Christmas Day, I will be at Waveny Care Center serving breakfast and dinner. Throughout the season, I will be engaging my family and friends in discussions on how they lead useful purposeful lives. I will be working with my friends on the DTC to ensure our town remains open and responsive to everyone in the community. And I will continue to advocate for tolerance, compromise, shared sacrifice and respect within our government and among its leaders so we can move forward as a country.

What are you giving your family, neighbor, community, country this year?

Wishing you a joyful season of giving,
A Democrat in New Canaan

Essay 3

Residents of New Canaan should be thankful for the Village. We are not a City, we are not a Metropolis – we are a Village. A Village is a family. Like any family we fight, disagree and mind one another’s business too much. Like a family we have a few “Uncle Ned” who are nettlesome, disagreeable and sometimes glass-half-empty kind of kin. But most of the family are wholesome, generous and sound of heart. We have a Village where we can walk through town and wave to folks we know, greet our Selectman by first name and celebrate one another’s good fortune.

Much of today’s world, courtesy of Twitter, Facebook and email, is void of personal interaction, plain-spoken promises and personal responsibility. Alternatively, the Village is full of face-to-face communications, forced interaction and (sometimes) respectful disagreements. The Village invites us to good behavior (i.e.: getting involved) and avoiding bad behavior (I admit reading the police blotter in the New Canaan Advertiser).

We should celebrate the goodness of our Village where children feel safe from school-yard bullies & reckless drivers and commuters walk home following late night arrivals at the train station.

We should be thankful to our town merchants including Rick Franco holding court at the Wine Merchant, Wendy serving our lunch at Cherry Street East and Matt –our town’s finest mechanic- at the New Canaan Gulf Station.

Lastly, we should be thankful to our committed group of volunteers across dozens of functions including our Library, Park and Recreation, Historical Society and the Ambulance Corp.

I lived in the City for years. I never met my neighbors – never felt like a stakeholder in the community. To this day, while I love commuting to the City for all of the energy, passion and competitiveness, I am thankful to come back to our Village for the community and friendship.

About this series: Each month, three New Canaan Democrats (3NCD) offer their thoughts on a matter in the news locally, at the state level or nationally.

Essay 1:

First, congratulations to all the newly elected (and re-elected) New Canaanites who will now administer the Town’s affairs. Thanks and appreciation as well to both Sally Hines and Jeb Walker for their service and many contributions over the years. Finally, kudos and respect to Kathleen Corbet who ran a classy (and VERY close) issue-oriented campaign for Town Treasurer. New Canaan is fortunate to have such public spirited citizens willing to serve in these increasingly complex and economically challenging times. Indeed the commitment to public service that the candidates (both  parties) demonstrate puts to shame the fact that less than one-fourth of their fellow town electors bothered to show up on election day – but that’s a topic for some other time. Today’s topic is to offer one Democrat’s unrequested but nonetheless sincere advice on how to move New Canaan forward.

Now that they’ve been elected, the hard part starts – they have to govern – which means they have to decide. In turn, that means that on one issue or another some of us will be happy, some won’t, and everyone will probably complain about something. No one ever said public service was easy. But, while trying to decide what government ought to do is never easy, it ought to always be done (by both elect-ors and elect-ed) with civility and transparency. That’s my first suggestion.

My second suggestion is: “If it isn’t broken; don’t fix it.”  I think there are many things that work quite well in out town. Our Schools, Police, Fire, and Emergency services are in my opinion simply first rate. Town employees, almost without exception, are helpful and competent. The various Boards, Committees, and Commissions work hard and overall, do a good job of discharging their responsibilities.

What other suggestion do I have?

Financial:  We need to do a better job of managing our financial affairs. I think the town does a pretty good job during the budgeting PROCESS in deciding what needs to be spent and by whom. I think we can do a much better job in the down-stream MANAGEMENT of those approved expenditures. All of us who come from the corporate world know how much time is spent on budget reviews, year-to-date-performance tracking, variance-from–plan discussions, annualized-run-rate analysis and better/worse than forecast reviews. We need to transfer more of those disciplines into our management of both our town departments and, most critically I think, in our oversight of third party contracts. Related to this is the need to have improved clarity and accountability regarding who can approve /authorize /disburse town funds under either already approved budgets or supplemental funding authorizations.

Downtown:  We need to stay focused on preserving/improving its vibrancy. It is one of the charms of New Canaan that helps sell the town to newcomers and thus helps preserve real estate values and the Grand List. Given the impact of the national recession and the reality of lower Fairfield County’s commercial rents this is not an easy problem. While I don’t pretend to have any brilliant solutions I do have two suggestions: explore  some form of limited tax abatement to landlords who agree to pass those savings on to merchants or service providers in the form of reduced rents upon locating in New Canaan or renewing existing leases and revisit (what I believe was looked at a few years ago) the idea of providing downtown employers some form of parking voucher that their employees can use at one or two of the town’s parking lots in order to free up parking spaces on Main and Elm Street for actual customers.

Seniors:  Finally – and here I confess I am at a loss – what, if any, accommodations should we make to the town’s aging demographic profile while simultaneously preserving those things which make New Canaan such an attractive place to come and raise a family?

I am sure I could fill up another umpteen pages with suggestions, ideas, comments, thoughts, insights, and ramblings but maybe I ought to let the new administration have a few days of well deserved peace and quite first!

We wish them (and us) a successful and productive term in office.

Essay 2:

I am impossibly challenged to imagine all of the issues that will arise in the coming years, and sufficiently humble not to prescript an opinion of possible answers. The only advice I would offer however, is to avoid the disease of DC gridlock.

I fear, in the immediate years ahead, NC government is at risk of gridlock arising from multiple divisions.  My advice? : listen with two ears; embrace differences of opinion; remain committed to finding a solution rather than being attached to the problem.

NC gridlock example #1

There are two kinds of mistakes:  “mistakes by action and mistakes by non-action”.  The worst kinds of mistakes are the latter: those by non-action. A mistake of non-action is like getting hit by a locomotive you see long in advance but are so gripped with fear, debate and polarization that you cannot make a simple decision to get out of harm’s way.  (i.e.: Repairing the leaky roof in Town Hall?)

NC gridlock example #2

Sometimes we resist change because we hate change.  We miss the benefit of new thinking and evolutionary change because of some tortured fear of where it might lead. (i.e.: Review / edit the NC Town Charter around the roles and responsibilities of the Treasurer?)

NC gridlock example #3

The art of leadership is avoiding corner-options.  If I enter the discussion room and immediately move to an intractable corner then there is no point in being in the room at all.  Everyone going away a little bit disappointed is often a hallmark of leadership success. (i.e.: Sidewalks? Long Range Planning Committee?)

Essay 3:

The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush.  It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment.  ~Robert M. Hutchins, Great Books, 1954

What constitutes a mandate for governance when only a small percentage of the population votes?  In New Canaan, only 23% of the electorate voted. The Republican Party, in a contentious primary, only obtained the participation of 30% of their voting members. Who then do the elected actually represent?

We are living in strange and difficult times.  The disdain for government is real.  Congress has only a 9% approval rating.  Unemployment remains fixed at 9% and we all seem to be getting used to it though I don’t think that is true for those who are part of that 9% which National Public Radio, thankfully, continues to make three dimensional in their profiles of the unemployed.  Fortunately, there is a social safety net and the breadlines of history remain a historical footnote.  Instead, we witness an increase in demand at the local food banks (there are six high school clubs collecting Thanksgiving donations) from populations who used to supply them – food stamps are for the destitute, not those struggling. Perhaps you know someone who has been looking for gainful employment for over 12 months and has taken a 70% pay cut?  Or empty nesters whose sons or daughters graduated and now are reconverting the sitting room back into a bedroom or apartment?  I do. There is nothing wrong with living at home while you are beginning your career or for that matter with half a dozen room-mates in a pre-war apartment in NYC. The problem is it is symptomatic of stalled careers due to stagnant growth. The economic news is not terribly encouraging, with projections of another two to four more difficult years, whatever this means or equates to.  No one knows what will happen if the Euro is disbanded but neither does anyone want to find out – fiscal control seems like a good idea but how to implement a return to national currencies without creating havoc? – the consensus seems to be that conditions could turn catastrophic, so why risk it?  Others disagree. The jury is still out, or is it hung?

Across the country, the Occupy Wall Streeters have galvanized a motley crew of young, old and in-between to protest the status quo and focus attention on the economy and the growing disparity in wealth which has not existed since before the depression.  Greed is no longer a capitalist virtue, as manifested by inflated compensation, excessive materialism and ostentatiousness.  Will we finally embrace a New England sensibility of frugality?

But I digress… What is my advice for the incoming administration representative of less than 25% of the voting population?  Granted, with the exception of the race for treasurer, this was a fait accomplie for the candidates and the rationale for the low turnout.  I suppose one could argue that New Canaanites are passive aggressive voters and endorse the new government. This would be an ill-advised conclusion. Instead, our newly elected town officials should re-read the letters to the editor on the town’s mismanagement of the Lakeview bridge, review the minutes of the public discussions of the Long Term planning committee, and pay heed to the larger socio-political trends that reveal a growing distrust of government (regardless of Party affiliation) in general in the country, of which New Canaan is a part.

If they pay attention, they will understand that the public wants them to

1. Be skeptical of studies and data as the means to establish public trust and justify policy choices.
2. Establish an ethical culture from the top down that is not contingent only on rule-making by administrations.
3. Be truthful, not just transparent, with the public – what do you mean to do with the information obtained?
4. Be directly accessible, not just through polls or surveys.
5. Engage the public meaningfully in the decision-making process so it can assume a shared responsibility in the choices that affect the town.

The above advice parallels the surprising conclusions of the The Public Agenda and Kettering Foundation’s recent research on how the public judges its leadership and holds its government accountable.   In five areas the study finds differing perspectives of the meaning of accountability between the public and leadership.  Contrary to a popular consensus within governing circles, more information gathering does not equate to greater public confidence and may indeed have the opposite effect.  People are skeptical of statistics, motivations behind data gathering and the manipulation of complex information to justify decisions.  Similarly, benchmarks or tests, while important management tools, do not provide any assurances of good governance if the culture does not value ethical behavior or other intangibles- How do we protect against grade inflation, cheating, or test manipulation?  “The public believes that accountability will fail unless institutions have an ethical culture to support them,” said Jean Johnson, Executive Vice President of Public Agenda.  Thirdly, transparency does not signify an automatic high public approval rating.

We, the public, are tired of automated customer service and anonymous surveys.  We want our government to be available and be responsive in a timely and honest manner.  And, finally, the public wants to participate in the solution — this seems to contradict the trend in what has been a usually accurate barometer of civic engagement and voter turnout.

And herein lies the dilemma for our democracy — we want our representatives to include us in the decision making process concerning the policy choices that directly impact our lives and yet we do not participate in their election.  We cannot expect our leaders to listen to us if we do not go to the polls and if their re-election is not contingent upon our participation.  For our local leaders, the problem becomes one of both governance and eventually town survival.  A town that does not listen to those who live in it will lose its residents, or become reliant for its sustainability on small ruling elites. Why should this be of concern to the new administration in New Canaan?  If the public does not participate and is not engaged, the town could eventually lose its economic base as people become more alienated and disenfranchised by the decisions made.  We could even see a local version of Occupy Wall Street.

N.B. The report, “Don’t Count Us Out: How an Overreliance on Accountability Could Undermine the Public’s Confidence in Schools, Business, Government and More,” is based on interviews and focus group in five cities and can be found on the website, http://www.publicagenda.org/dont-count-us-out

Everyone talks about how partisan the United States is becoming: divided in politics, divided between haves and have-nots, divided between Yankee fans and Met fans. I would like to extend an olive branch to my Republican friends by offering them a killer of an investment idea.

First, some background. All of us in New Canaan know what hedge funds do. Heck, many of us probably have friends and neighbors who make their living working for hedge funds. For the few of you who don’t know, let me give you some examples:

From the website for JC Clark, a hedge fund based in Toronto:

This comes from a company called “Barclay Hedge” (not the Barclays from the UK, but apparently a pretender trying to exploit the brand equity of the bigger bank):

This one comes from the prospectus for the Glencore fund

So, to sum it up – hedge funds look for people making bad bets, and they bet against them, and as a result, they make gobs of money exploiting people who aren’t quite as smart as they are. (Moreover, any good hedgie has found the way to make sure that those gobs of money are taxed like capital gains, at a much lower rate than the rest of us pay – but that’s the topic of another article.)

You may ask yourself, where am I going here?  I think I found a really big hole for the hedgies to exploit:  global warming.

The Republicans are pretty clear on this issue.  Rick Perry has called it all one contrived phony mess that is falling apart under its own weight.”  Ron Paul calls it an “elaborate hoax.”  Michele Bachmann has used the same word: hoax.

At the same time, even though the business-friendly Republicans have dismissed global warming as a hoax, some of the businesses that could be most impacted by global warming are following a different path.  A recent article in Business Week explained the view of Munich Re, one of the largest reinsurance companies in the world.  Munich Re sees things a different way: they think climate change is real, they expect it to create major impact on our environment and they’re already taking actions to  protect themselves from the expected financial impact of global warming.

And here lies the opportunity; Munich Re is actually creating the exact type of market inefficiency that every good Republican trader dreams of!  They’re clearly being swayed by the liberal junk-science (and not for nothing, but they’re Europeans to boot!)

Republican friends, this is your chance – if you really believe that global warming is a myth, if you really think that it’s all junk science, if you really think this is just a myth that Al Gore made up back when he was inventing the internet, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is.  Take the opposite sides of these trades!  Show the liberals how dumb they are.

I dare you.

On November 8, 2011, New Canaan held its municipal elections.

You can find our candidate profiles here.
You can find the results here.

We’d like to thank the many volunteers who came out to support our ticket, everyone who stopped in at our headquarters at 99 Main St., and all those who voted for the Democrats in 2011.

We’ll take a breather, then launch into Campaign 2012 in a few weeks.  This is gonna be fun…