Management Insights

Columnists

Tech Talk By Ellen Perlman

The Texas Ten-Step

Texas is in an uncomfortable place, technology-wise. You may have been there, too. You take a huge and expensive leap on a big, complicated IT outsourcing project, and things go haywire. The local press gets hold of the news, and your state's IT laundry is aired for everyone to shake their heads at and tsk-tsk over.

Around the country, chief information officers are empathizing with Texas' pain. But they also are relieved that it's not them — this time.... READ MORE

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Assessments By Alan Ehrenhalt

Stimulating Architecture

If we're going to invest in infrastructure projects to turn the economy around, let's build well.

Public Money By Girard Miller

Cutting Benefits: The Wrong Way and the Right Way

Benefits rollbacks are on the table, but not all proposals are truly "above board." Some are just political gimmicks to avoid biting the bullet.

Economic Development By William Fulton

Going for an Upturn

There's a calculus for figuring out what a state or locality can do to prime the development pump.

Environment By Tom Arrandale

Banking on the Wind

Even in states that produce fossil fuels, Americans are figuring that prosperity will be tied to finding greener energy resources.

Finance By John E. Petersen

Revenue Revisions

States and localities should use the current fiscal trauma to adjust and amend the ways they raise money.

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Health By Penelope Lemov

Care Calculations

Home-based care can keep the elderly out of nursing homes. But that isn't stopping some states from making cuts in the program.

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Innovation By Ken Miller

Change the Lens

An open letter to President Obama (and all other new government leaders) on the best ways to improve government.

Management By Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene

The Lure of the Layoff

There are plenty of costly mistakes to make when you try to balance a budget through personnel freezes, cuts or early retirements.

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Potomac Chronicle By Donald F. Kettl

The Disaster Tripwire

The tough choices on emergency response are gradually migrating to Washington.

Potomac Chronicle By Peter Harkness

Obama and the States

President Bush promised governors a close relationship and didn't deliver. Can states trust the reassuring words of his successor?

Tech Talk By Ellen Perlman

The Texas Ten-Step

When a state tries to merge data centers from all its agencies, it's in for a bumpy ride — and a very long one.

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Transportation Alex Marshall

Road Show

A city redefines how to use its streets — even its busiest, most traffic-clogged roadways.