Streamlining Government: Sound-bites or Sound Policy?

This is not the first time Maine has faced and overcome a deficit. Nor is the idea of making government more efficient, responsive and cost-effective anything new. Currently there are many proposals on the table to consolidate services and reconfigure responsibility and accountability in order to save money. Are these good ideas? Will they provide real long-term savings? Are there unintended consequences and costs down the road to these shifts and realignments?

In this, our seventh Annual Tax and Budget Conference, we'll be looking at current plans to streamline education, corrections, health care purchasing and natural resource protection. We don't have the answers, but we hope to discover sensible and sound solutions. Your ideas and thoughts are important to the discussion!