PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE:  This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

The Department of Inquiring Minds is one of four departments I run with a free hand to manage each as I see fit.

The others are the Department of Pet Peeves, the Department of Just Saying, and the Department of Good Quotes Worth Remembering.

So, the former – the Department of Inquiring Minds – is now open.

ABOUT AUDITS:  Just wondering — when a group of auditors audits a government operation, who audits the auditors?

Government is always quick to create a new office or operation to do something, but think for a minute about how far this goes.  At one point, legislators created the Office of Audits run by the Secretary of State in Oregon.  It was supposed to go out and review the performance of state agencies.

But the question persists — who audits the auditors?

Maybe we need to create another office to do so.

ABOUT THE VIRUS AND VACCINES:  Several days ago, according to the Wall Street Journal, podcast host Joe Rogan advised his young listeners to skip the COVID-19 vaccine.

“I think you should get vaccinated if you’re vulnerable,” Rogan said. “But if you’re 21 years old, and you say to me, ‘Should I get vaccinated?’ I’ll go, ‘No.’”

The Journal went on to say Rogan’s comments drew widespread condemnation.  But his view is surprisingly common. One in four Americans say they don’t plan to take the COVID-19 vaccine, and about half of Republicans under 50 say they won’t get a vaccine.

When getting vaccines is critical to health, as well as getting back to some state of “normal,” why do so many argue against such protection for themselves and for others. 

There is no logical answer.

ABOUT FEDERAL EARMARKS:  The practice of giving Members of Congress the chance to direct federal spending to favored local projects – it was called “earmarks” – came into such ill repute that it was banned several years ago.

Now, experienced political commentator George Will shows up with advocacy for reinstating earmarks. 

In the Washington Post, he wrote, “The wary and partial review (of earmarks) by congressional Republicans is, on balance, welcome.  This is so partly because it illustrates how coping with the transaction costs of democracy is often a matter of balancing the admirable with the regrettable.

“For those of you who sometimes forget things that once seemed unforgettable, long ago — about a decade ago — many in Congress, especially conservatives, decided that earmarks were a scandal, the elimination of which would make a mighty improvement in national governance.  

Thanks to one project, the 2005 “Bridge to Nowhere,” Wills says Congress scrapped earmarks.  The “nowhere” project would have connected, at a cost of $223 million, an Alaskan community of 8,900 to its airport on a nearby island with a population of 50, thereby sparing fliers a 15-minute commute by ferry and a cost of $6 per car.

Why are earmarks coming back into support?  Wills says negotiating over earmarks provides a way for Members of Congress to cooperate with each other when not much else works to achieve that aim.

In the spirit of full disclosure, the firm I helped to found and where I worked for almost 25 years, operates an office in Washington, D.C. that, among other things, advocates for federal spending allocations.

Without our earmarks, our office continued the work.  But, now with earmarks being restored, the restoration gives us another avenue to represent Northwest clients.

But, let me underline this – we would never advocate for a “bridge to nowhere.”  We advocate for local projects that benefit local citizens.

ABOUT “FIDUCIARIES:”  That word – fiduciaries – is  hard to understand, but, in the financial services business, it pertains to the fact that those who counsel citizens about finances have to keep those citizen interests in plain view.  They are the priority.

Sounds obvious to me.  I would never engage a financial counselor who was out for his or her own interests, not my interests.

Fortunately, the one we have maintains our interests at all times and keeps us posted on results.  Kudos to him and his staff.