I live in (and work for) Suffolk County, NY, about an hour from New York City on Long Island's East End. Our county executive, a center right Democrat gave his "State of the County" Address this past week, and it was, as you might expect, underwhelming.
Like so many speeches of this type, It was essentially a list of all the swell things done in the past year, and all the even more swell things that we are going to do in this coming year.
What it did not do, in anyway whatsoever, was to engage me as a citizen with responsibilities to my neighbors, to my county or town, or to anyone other than to myself as a taxpayer and public service consumer.
I have had it up my ass to my elbows with politicians who tell me government is like a business, that the taxpayers saved this amount of money when we cut a service (typically one to folks who dont vote but need things like healthcare or social services), with politicians that that refer to the people's money, and their amazing prudence in spending it.
Is it our money? Sure. But really what it is, is it's our government, at every level, constituted to act on our behalf for the betterment, not the enrichment of all.
So how about this--how about instead of trying to run government like a business (which we don't and can't do anyway), we run it like it is freely constituted among its citizens to ensure the blessings of prosperity for all.