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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2010 > February > 03
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Martin Gottlieb: A response to Goldberg on Obama
Jonah Goldberg has a column saying Obama is an ideologue whether he admits it or not. This after Obama said “I am not an ideologue” at his meeting with House Republicans Friday.
But Goldberg really doesn’t get at the point in contention. His point is that Obama is an ideologue in the sense that everybody with a strong political orientation is an ideologue.
“The president invokes his or America’s ‘values’ to justify a ban on waterboarding, passage of universal health care, sustaining legalized abortion, higher taxes for the wealthy, gay equality and — coming soon — a more expedient system for selecting a college football champion. Those all involve pursuing ideological ends.”
That is an extraordinarily broad definition of ideology. The word came into usage not as a synonym for “set of values” but as a reference to very specific doctrines like communism and socialism.
It has evolved. Liberals use it about conservatives to mean people who have predictable, knee-jerk responses to everything, always — in the economic realm, at least — saying the problem is too much government. Conservatives paint liberals as people who always think more government is the answer.
Obama was saying, that’s not who I am. If you’ve got a small-government solution, great; let’s hear it.
Some surely will find that disingenuous, to one degree or another. Fine. Goldberg will probably write that column one day, if he hasn’t. Ultimately, it matter less what the Republican writers say, than what the Republican politicians do, by way of taking Obama up on his offer.
Why write the column Goldberg wrote, all semantics? Presumably because the conservatives would rather oppose an ideologue than a pragmatist. Better to paint your opponent as someone in the grip of controversial values than as an open-minded fact monger.
But there’s more. As Goldberg’s column suggests, he’s perfectly happy to be considered an ideologue, even if he knows the word has a certain negative connotation to most people. (He’s not running for office, after all, just playing to a niche of readers.) He’s probably pretty typical of conservative columnists in that regard.
Most liberals, though, really do not think of themselves as ideologues. They will admit to having different values from conservatives, but they insist they are committed to no ideology as way of promoting those values, but to whatever works. Sometimes, in these times, that means government action. But many are eager to tell you all the realms in which they are leery of government.
For me, if anybody cares, liberalism is the very antithesis of ideology, not of conservatism. Open-mindedness is the whole point, albiet in pursuit of certain values, roughly categorized, I suppose, as humanist. But I do think liberalism sometimes hardens into something very much like ideology. I think Obama was saying, in part, that he is aware of that possibility and tries to guard against it.
Permalink | Comments (26) | Post your comment | Categories: Martin Gottlieb, National Politics
Editorial: United Way has to get on, stay on track
United Way of Greater Dayton’s finances have not just been slipping. They’ve been dropping like a rock.
In 2005, the organization raised $11.7 million. Last year donations were $9.5 million. This week the fundraising drive, which likely will be extended beyond the normal February closing, had just shy of $7.6 million in pledges.
The hope is that the current campaign will not dip below last year’s amount, that the organization has hit rock bottom. A lot of work is going to have to happen quickly for that goal to be met.
It’s this context that makes some past spending and priorities look seriously out of whack. While revenue has been sinking, administrative expenses at least through 2007 were going up, including former Executive Director Marc Levy’s salary.
Meanwhile, the amount the agency was spending on fundraising — fundamentally United Way’s mission — was being scaled back.
The outreach to companies and individuals that United Way does each and every year costs money. That work also has become increasingly more expensive because Dayton has fewer big companies with hundreds or thousands of employees who can be solicited easily through company or union campaigns.
More people, making more contacts — even if many are volunteers — is not cheap.
In looking at United Way’s 990 forms — documents that non-profits are required to file with the Internal Revenue Service — staff writer Jim DeBrosse found that former United Way director Mr. Levy’s salary went from $182,655 in 2005 to $222,633 in 2008.
At the same time, the agency was reporting deficits, including a $1 million shortfall at the end of fiscal year 2008.
Mr. Levy left for Portland, Ore., in the fall of 2008. His successor, Allen Elijah, is earning a little more than half as much, and the agency has eliminated about 40 full-time positions.
If the temptation is to applaud the change in course, it’s worth remembering that there was no choice. The agency was heading toward a financial crisis.
Charity Navigator, which is a watchdog of nonprofits, gave United Way its lowest rating, one star out of a possible four, for the three years between 2005 and 2007.
That ranking is based on a paper analysis — looking at what the United Way reports and how that data stacks up relative to other charities.
The agency’s small financial cushion and deficits were what hurt it the most. The organization has not rated United Way for 2008 yet.
The community is the poorer without a healthy United Way. Many small nonprofits can’t afford to do fundraising, or, if they try, the effort consumes an inordinate amount of their time relative to the financial payback.
For them, United Way’s work and allocations are a godsend.
From the consumer’s standpoint, participating through workplace giving is convenient and hassle-free. There are no checks to mail, no credit card transactions to make, and, once you sign up, most of us don’t miss the amount we’re donating because it automatically comes out of our paychecks.
All of us can think of a charity or a cause that’s deserving of a few of our dollars.
Dayton’s United Way decided last year not to merge with Cincinnati’s United Way. The rationale was that directors want to keep the focus on Dayton-area charities, to ensure that those needs aren’t overlooked or minimized.
OK, but if that’s the choice, this United Way has to be run effectively, aggressively and especially efficiently. A shaky or crumbling United Way helps no one.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Editorials, Ellen Belcher, Social Services
