Dream Job

Former Auditor for the State of Minnesota, Pat (formerly Awada) Anderson has my dream job!! Ms. Anderson lost re-election as Auditor in November 2006 but was recently appointed by Governor Tim Pawlenty to become Commissioner of the Department of Employee Relations (DER). Assuming the state senate confirms her appointment -- they probably will but I would not be shocked if they delayed it a bit given her assigned job duties since government union jobs are likely to be lost -- Commissioner Anderson's primary job function will be to "scrap it (DER) as a stand-alone agency" because that is what Governor Pawlenty appointed her to accomplish.

As regular readers of this blog know I mentioned that my "dream job" in government would be to be appointed by my governor (or the president) to eliminate an entire department/agency. No I would not just give all employees card board boxes so they could empty their desks - instead I would help make them employable in the private sector or encourage them to start their own businesses.

My only concern with Commissioner Anderson's job assignment is how it was reported by Bill Salisbury in the Pioneer Press newspaper stating that "he (Governor Pawlenty) expects her (Anderson) to transfer the agency's functions to the Administration and Finance departments and other offices in about 18 months." The key word here of course is, "transfer" , versus my own pet phrase, "eliminate", because if this appointment of Commissioner Anderson simply results in moving things around, changing department letterhead, etc. versus actually CUTTING AND ELIMINATING government regulations and job functions then taxpayers and entrepreneurs are not gaining.

No where did I see in Salisbury's article an estimated "savings to taxpayers" amount but perhaps my friends at the Reason Foundation, www.reason.org or Citizens Against Government Waste, www.cagw.org, can get involved with Commissioner Anderson's work so we are able to see a reduction in the overall level of government in the Land of 10,000 Taxes.

Reduce don't Recycle,

Todd