This news item reports that Gov. Purdue is implementing an idea that was included in the Civitas Institute's Budget & Tax Blueprint released last fall.
According to the news report:
The Perdue Administration is reviving a program designed to reward state
employees for providing innovative and cost-saving solutions.
The idea is to provide a financial bonus to programs that save money. The
program, initially called the Employee Suggestion Program when it was started in
the mid '90s, is being renamed NCThinks program, Rob Christensen reports.
State employees are eligible to get up to 20 percent of the savings they
identify.
And from the Blueprint:
financial incentives for government department leaders and staff to save money,
create operating efficiencies, and eliminate waste.
The bottom line is: incentives matter. The typical incentive for state agencies is continued growth so as to grow the power of the bureaucrats in charge. Creating an incentive for state employees to find savings is an attempt to counter that natural tendency of bureaucracies to grow. It will be interesting to follow this new program and see how many cost-saving ideas are actually implemented.
She may have read it, but I doubt she could comprehend it. If ya know what I mean.