Innovation needed with cooperation

Your Jan. 4 editorial, “Cut, yes, but cooperate and share pain,” makes an important point and it also makes brief mention of something not usually considered in these discussions: innovation and changing the way things are done so that it is, in fact, possible to “do more with less.” You thankfully point out that there are other options to be discussed, but unfortunately this is limited to just a few lines near the end of the column.

I’d propose that each of the major discussions about the need to control and/or reduce public spending start with the challenge to both parties to come up with innovative new ways to get the job done well at a lower overall cost. This focus would put the emphasis on increasing the productivity at public services and, in the process, allow both sides to preserve most of what’s important to them as long as they serve the greater need, i.e., reducing total spending.

In my experience, there are two things that need to be done to shift the focus to a more win/win solution: 1) make the leaders on both sides accountable to come up with innovative ways to solve the problem and then incent this behavior, and 2) create a culture in which the larger society encourages innovative cooperation.

We all know that we can’t afford to continue the current level of public spending and this option is certainly worth a serious try.

Willard Bishop

Barrington Hills