An Indianapolis Star editorial asks and answers the question: What do liberal New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and conservative Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels have in common?
Both are attempting to streamline local governments. And both are using property tax caps as a tool to force changes in how local leaders approach their budgets.
[. . .]
The need for heightened efficiency isn't a Democratic or a Republican concept. It's not isolated to the Midwest or the East Coast. The weak economy may be national or even global in scale, but the need to adapt to it with creativity and innovation is just as important in Fort Wayne, Muncie and Terre Haute as it is in Albany, Indianapolis and Washington, D.C.
A valid point, and one it's useful to note in a time of bitter partisan rancor. The real, test, though, is what a government does when the economy improves and the pressure is off. Will it revert to the old, bloated-government ways or embrace fiscal prudence as a good philosophy going forward?
