This is an especially demoralizing time. It seems that everywhere around me people are exploiting public trust for private gain. The motives of the former N.C. State chancellor and provost in the Mary Easley affair remain unclear. But it is obvious Mrs. Easley believed her public position permitted an egregious end run around the regular process for hiring and promotion, as well as an obscene and patently undeserved salary.
At Chapel Hill, UNC administrators created a center that was essentially a front for former U.S. Sen. John Edwards’ presidential campaign — one we now discover could well have been spending money illegally. Oh, and I just got back from the U.K., where MPs are embroiled in an expenses scandal. Legislators are reported to have taken taxpayer money to pay for things such as pornographic movies and, I kid you not, a moat to be cleaned.
These events, particularly those at my own institution, have saddened me greatly.
They also have got me thinking about how North Carolinians can ensure those in public positions put the state’s interests before their own. As someone strongly influenced by what academics call the “public choice” school — the idea that individuals behave so as to maximize their own interests — I am attracted obviously to the idea of incentives. We should increase transparency and accountability in public life and inject flexibility into state employment laws.
This will allow us to reward those who serve the state well and get rid of those who do not.
But I think we can do more. A few weeks ago I was reviewing a book by George Mason University’s Hugh Heclo titled On Thinking Institutionally. Heclo pushed against my libertarian instincts and encouraged my conservative ones.
He argues that we are all members of institutions — groups of individuals tied together by shared values and experiences. Institutions can be formal, like the Rotary Club, IBM, and the Taylor family, or informal, such as a neighborhood poker game or people who practice etiquette. As part of any institution, we should resist self-obsession and be a little more conscious of collective interests. We should respect the contributions of those who came before us. We should understand our obligations to those who come after us. We should think institutionally.
Of course North Carolinians already think institutionally. They contribute to the life of their churches and pass on religious traditions. They serve in the armed forces and honor the sacrifices of those who served before them. They support their universities long after they have graduated. Very few Americans are as patriotic as we are.
Yet, unfortunately, we don’t think of our state in this way. To be sure, there is a North Carolina way of life. NASCAR, ACC basketball, barbecue, bluegrass music, and summer beach trips are surely at the heart of it. But few people seem to think of themselves as part of this institution, the state of North Carolina.
Perhaps that’s because so many of us are from somewhere else. Maybe it’s because the tug of other institutions frequently pulls us in another direction. Or maybe it’s because many of our leaders are setting such a bad example. Look at the choices made by people like Jim Black, Frank Ballance, and Meg Scott Phipps, as well as the individuals discussed earlier.
It would be better if we did start thinking this way, though. Government officials must understand fully their responsibilities to their constituents and commit to a policymaking process characterized by transparency, civility, candor, and thoughtfulness. They should respect precedent and worry about the future. Other state employees have a duty to safeguard the rights of their principals — students, farmers, patients, prisoners, and, especially, the taxpayer.
They do this by following the rules, working hard, and reporting anything contrary to the state’s interests. This last thing just got easier; former state auditor Les Merritt and ethics guru and FBI man Frank Perry have launched the Foundation for Ethics in Public Service to aid whistleblowers.
Those outside the public sector have an obligation to think institutionally, too. We all should be aware of how the North Carolinians who came before us made this such a great place to live — the settlers, the frontiersmen, those who worked on the farms and in the factories.
We are part of a rich tradition. As we live and work we should be thinking of those who come after us — our children and their children, the people who will migrate here. We have an obligation to improve the state and leave it a more prosperous, healthy, and enjoyable place to live. Each of us should add value, not subtract it.
Andy Taylor is Professor and Chair of Political Science in the School of Public and International Affairs at N.C. State University.