HOWEY: FSSA, IBM: Gov. Mitch Daniels’ darkest hour

Columns

Related Photos

Discussion

October 24, 2009

By BRIAN HOWEY The News and Tribune Sat Oct 24, 2009, 12:50 AM EDT

INDIANAPOLIS — Every presidential and gubernatorial administration finds itself in one of those dark moments when the world crowds in, the policy and political prospects dim and enemies seem to abound.

For Gov. Mitch Daniels, that moment came last week when he decided to pull the plug on the $1.34 billion welfare privatization deal.

Other governors have faced similar dark moments. For Gov. Robert Orr, it came in December 1982 when the state faced bankruptcy and he had to call the General Assembly into session to pass record tax hikes during the last severe recession. For Gov. Evan Bayh, it may have been the days leading to the 1993 special budget session when he had to opt for the riverboat casinos.

For Daniels, the FSSA welfare privatization deal was the culmination of a two-decade experiment in which elected leaders became CEOs and government functions were outsourced to private vendors. When Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith came to power in 1992, Daniels chaired his Services Efficiency and Lower Taxes for Indianapolis Commission, or SELTIC, which resulted in the privatization of city swimming pools, golf courses and sign shops.

Another key player was Mitchell Roob, who headed the city’s Department of Capital Asset Management and later Health and Hospital Corp. In the book, “To Market, To Market: Reinventing Indianapolis,” Roob espoused Goldsmith’s theme of “reducing government control by turning the government’s business over to private interests.” The “thesis” of the administration was that “marketized” public service could be delivered at lower cost, without a corresponding decline in quality or quantity of services.”

Now, flash-forward to 2005, when Daniels assumed office and Roob headed FSSA. Roob would tell the three major figures — Daniels, Roob and Goldsmith — had simply “traded positions.” Daniels became the CEO; Roob headed FSSA; and Goldsmith became the adviser.

The other element to this picture is that between the Goldsmith mayoral administration and the Daniels governorship, Roob worked for Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services Inc., which was eventually included in the IBM welfare deal. From the beginning of this affiliation, critics abounded. They pointed out that Texas had pulled the plug on a similar deal.

And that’s what happened here with the situation exacerbated by the Great Recession of 2008-09, as tens of thousands of Hoosiers lost their jobs, their paychecks, their unemployment and their security. The computerized eligibility system that Roob oversaw was rolled out in 59 of Indiana’s 92 counties. It didn’t include some of the state’s most populous counties, such as Lake and Marion.

Republicans like State Reps. Suzanne Crouch, of Evansville, David Yarde, of Garrett, were getting deluged with complaints.

“For some time now, my constituents have had trouble obtaining food stamps and unemployment benefits from FSSA,” said Yarde.

While Daniels correctly states that the system he inherited was rife with fraud and inefficiency — telling me last summer that the old system was still getting more complaints from the counties yet to switch over — the problems with IBM and ACS can be appreciated by anyone trying to deal with any company where you can’t talk to a real person.

I recently tried to resolve a problem with my Internet and TV provider and spent more than an hour and still couldn’t get the problem resolved. Lois Rockhill, executive director of Second Harvest Food, told the Anderson Herald-Bulletin: “People needing food stamps, cash assistance and health coverage have very little wiggle room. Falling through the cracks is almost like falling through the gallows with a noose around your neck. You are at the end of your rope.

“The very system that was created to help you ends up punishing you.”

Daniels will now seek a “hybrid” system where face-to-face contact is restored to FSSA applicants. He explained, “Those who raised concerns about service quality were correct and we appreciate their efforts. We’ll now take the best parts of the old and new and move ahead with a hybrid system in what amounts to a major mid-course correction.

“The easiest thing to do in a situation like this is throw your hands up and say, ‘Well, that’s as good as it can be.’ This has been a daunting thing all along, and it still is, of course. Our first attempt didn’t get us there, but we did get some positives out of it.”

Other Daniels efforts have seen ups and downs. The original revamping of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles was controversial and problematic. Today, I’m amazed I can get in and out of a license branch in a matter of minutes, not hours.

Getting new plates is one thing; the social safety net is something Indiana has to get right.

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Columns

CLERE: Walkout is absurd
The walkout by Indiana House Democrats entered its third week yesterday as tensions continued to rise and misinformation proliferated.

March 7, 2011 1 Photo
LADD: New Albany has new energy
New Albany is evolving. Public art has become more prevalent in the downtown, drawing more locals and outside visitors to our community; bringing more publicity.

March 7, 2011 1 Photo
STAWAR: The souvenir state of America
Recently, my wife Diane and I spent the day aboard the Belle of Cincinnati with our daughter’s family. We all had a good time, even though the diesel-powered Cincinnati attraction isn’t a real steamboat, like our own Belle of Louisville, and despite the fact that it poured down rain the whole time.

May 25, 2012 1 Photo
NASH: Making a Memorial vacation
Memorial Day weekend is upon us which brings us to the start of the summer travel season. With the mild winter we had around here most schools didn’t have much in terms of snow make-up days so many kids have already finished up their semesters and are ready to get on with their holiday. Not to worry parents it will only be a couple of weeks before the back-to-school sales kick in and in no time at all it will be time for those youngsters to go back.

May 25, 2012 1 Photo
HARBESON: A handy little idea
After having worked hard the past few months, I now have something new to add to my resume — “I was Lead Project Manager for a major construction venture, supervising every aspect in the creation of a privately funded community building.”

May 24, 2012 1 Photo
MORRIS: Nancy Hogan was more than just an employee
Pulling into The Tribune parking lot each morning was pretty uneventful in the old days. Nothing good happens between 5:30 and 6 a.m. Nothing at all.

May 24, 2012 1 Photo
HAMILTON: Is this really the best we can do?
As you know if you pay attention to national affairs, the United States faces a perfect fiscal storm at the end of this year. A confluence of deadlines and policy triggers unlike anything I can remember in a half-century of public life will produce massive budget cuts and serious tax increases amounting to a 3.5 percent hit on the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.

May 22, 2012 1 Photo
BEAM: Lost memories found
As time elapses, so do our memories. I forget things now. I can’t remember his height. How did he curl his lips into that sardonic, wholehearted smile? I only recall flashes of a moment. Wearing his jacket at prom. His golf clubs in the back of his old, golden car. Notes passed in the hallway. Listening to Boys to Men in his basement.

May 22, 2012 1 Photo
STANCZYKIEWICZ: A gift for mom and dad
Two strategies for parents are important. First, parents need to model for children how to disagree. “When you’re talking with your spouse and you’re whining and complaining and nagging, you shouldn’t be too surprised when your young person does the same thing,” Allen said. “We need to be good role models.”

May 22, 2012 1 Photo
HOWEY: Brooks, Walorski take aim at GOP glass ceiling
Susan Brooks’ 5th District campaign conducted internal polling in mid-April and the news was disheartening. She trailed the frontrunner — former congressman David McIntosh — by 20 points. Twenty points?

May 20, 2012 1 Photo
More Columns Headlines

Columns

Search Results

Related Photos

Discussion

HOWEY: FSSA, IBM: Gov. Mitch Daniels’ darkest hour

Site Map

Contact Us