5 comments about The Price of Government: Getting the Results We Need in an Age of Permanent Fiscal Crisis.

1. The timing for this book couldn't be better - an era of skyrocketing deficits, an aging population (boosting pension outlays), inexorable increases in healthcare costs (fewer workers with health insurance, aging population), and businesses increasingly threatening to move elsewhere unless they receive tax relief.
   
   Simply cutting budgets accomplishes little - as Osborne points out, it does nothing to improve areas retained. In addition, service recipients or proponents (usually providers) simply complain ad naseum until an opportunity to restore funding occurs (eg. tax increase or economic upturn) presents itself - thus setting the stage for the next crisis.
   
   Osborne is also correct in pointing out that the most common budget "cures" are simply illusions - accounting gimmicks (timing "games" regarding outlays and receipts, fudging estimates, temporarily ignoring voter mandates), borrowing, and delaying maintenance.
   
   At this point, however, Osborne goes off the track by proposing some intelligent-sounding changes in approach (eg. identify the results wanted), and proceeds to go through a lot of razzle-dazzle that simply ends up with "business as usual."
   
   Using Washington state as an example, Osborne cites how a citizens group decided to focus on providing more early-childhood-education and implementing skill-based pay for teachers - neither a "REAL" result. During the last 30+ years innumerable education "improvement" programs have been funded, while progress has been non-existent - eg. scores by 17-year-olds on the National Assessment of Education Progress (the only unchanged large-scale test in the nation) have remained unchanged, as have drop-out rates. This, despite a more than doubling of inflation-adjusted per-pupil spending in the last 30 or so years. As for "skill-based" teacher pay, study after study has found that - after taking into account pupil differences - payment for EXISTING "skill-set" programs (teacher experience or degree levels) contribute little (only the first few years of experience) or nothing to pupil achievement. So why add another dubious dimension? If one needs any more evidence, consider the fact that most private schools only cost about half that of public schools.
   
   Universities are another major State-level expenditure; like K-12 education, MAJOR overhaul (not rethinking budgets)is required. Since the early 1990's, professors' teaching workloads have been reduced from three classes per semester to two. Nationally, and undoubtedly in Washington also, the length of the academic year shrunk from 191 days in 1964 to only 156 in 1993. Meanwhile, only 21 cents of every funding dollar goes into the classroom - the number of non-teaching professionals (eg. counselors) has increased from 3 per instructor in 1976 to 6 in 2001. Returning to those recent productivity levels, substantially reducing admissions of the roughly half unable or unmotivated to graduate, and shortening the average 5+ years required to graduate would allow savings of about $500+ million/year in Arizona and it is assumed that similar opportunities exist in Washington.
   
   As for healthcare, Osborne's Washington process suggested dropping coverage for low-income workers - an ACCOUNTING GIMMICK that simply transfers the costs to providers, and adding more clinics. However, what is really required is a review of incentives and other care drivers - eg. the highest-spending areas in the U.S. spend about 60% more on Medicare recipients than the lowest, despite access to care and patient outcomes being better in the low-income areas. A second problem is that healthcare providers are REWARDED for their errors - payors need to insist on adherence to quality standards. A third major problem is that care recipients have no incentives to conserve - Health Savings Accounts (allowing cashing out of any funds remaining from a set amount) do so.
   
   Clearly Osborne's work would be more useful if it focused on outcomes - both good and bad. Associated with that should also be a discussion of benchmarking (staffing levels, compensation for staff, and benefit levels), and continuous improvement goal-setting that emphasize reducing waste and improving quality "Toyota-style" - keys to success in the private sector.
   
   The "bottom-line" is that the focus should not be on the budget process, but on permanent reform of the biggest consumers of government funds - education and healthcare.



2. Great ideas if anyone can find government workers or teachers who know anything or care about ...budgets.
   Focus on getting workers engaged in the planning process first before introducing even the word BUDGET or PRICE of Government.
   Also, using the terms PERMANENT and CRISIS in the same sentence does absolutely nothing except cause eyes to glaze over.



3. The PRICE of GOVERNMENT:
   Getting the Results We Need in an Age of Permanent Fiscal Crisis
   
   
   There is no doubt that money needs to be well-spent, especially when discussing money managers such as our state and national government officials. As a "customer" of this government, I'm looking for solutions, yet finding more problems. The Price of Government not only identifies those problems, but offers solutions. The premise remains the same- what are Americans willing to pay for the services that we need?
   
   The authors review not only America's history of taxation, but introduce components from other sources. Such sources are countries where governmental systems are more effective than ours, and sometimes also citing an example of ineffectiveness followed by review and suggestion. Overall, this book is a valuable source for those who have an interest as to where their tax dollars are being spent. The authors suggest that all Americans should be more well-informed before they vote. After reading many reviews of this text, I believe the authors may wish to re-visit this idea. America wants results. There is a great deal of practical suggestions about moving toward a practical performance-based system. I believe that we are beginning to see this and use of the internet helps average citizens gain information we would not have had access to a decade ago.
   
   What I especially enjoyed about this book was that it wasn't just shock and awe... we're going downhill heading for doom, etc. The authors state the obvious- that we've spent more than we have and there needs to be accountability for the money customers provide. I refrained from overusing the word taxpayer because the book does address ways to use these concepts in other arenas, making it a valuable tool not only for elected officials, health care and educational employees, but to business as a whole. The introduction jumps right in and offers a "prescription" to help save this sinking ship. In short, the authors compel government to "get a grip" on the problem, figure out how much taxpayers are willing to help with the problem, determine priorities and then allocate funds for those priorities until money is gone. Being in the middle of an educational administration program has exposed me to several similar texts. Often, reorganization is the focus to solve existing problems. These authors drew me in from the get-go, but the following quote sums up their philosophy well!
   
   Native Americans have many sayings, and one of the wisest is this: "When you're riding a dead horse, the best strategy is t dismount. You don't change riders. You don't reorganize the herd. You don't put blue-ribbon commission on veterinarians. And you don't spend more money on feed. You get off and find yourself a new horse. "(Page 19)
   
   To begin identification of the problem they look at demographics- an aging population with longer longevity and decreased population growth. In short, healthcare and social security problems have caused a deficit in the budget on a huge scale. The authors suggest budgeting for outcomes- determine what is really important, and then figure out how much it will cost and then buy it. I liked how they state to "use indicators that make sense to citizens". (Page 72) Often, schools report test scores but do not explain how they are interpreted. The authors suggest planning for outcome goals and including indicators of that success. They identify the difference between budgeting for Outcomes and performance management. The example of the child welfare agency being rewarded or punished based on child abuse cases solidifies the definite difference of the two. (Page 89)
   
   In the consolidation chapter, the authors remind us that historically, American government reacts to a crisis through reorganization. Two examples sited are the loss of a child causing the child welfare system reform and Homeland security being developed after September 11th 2001. Reorganization is not always bad, but it not always what the organization needs either. I like how the book relates well to the educational system. Suggesting that schools be held accountable to achieve these goals set by the system would increase motivation to ensure child success. We are beginning to see this in charter school enrollment rising and some states having the option to voucher tax dollars toward private schools. The concept of "rightsizing" looks at whether or not the service is still needed, how efficiently those working in that area are doing their work and what can be done about it. If the service is still needed but time is wasted, for example completing tedious paperwork or signing time cards that the supervisor doesn't manage suggests looking at technology to streamline the work to be done.
   
   Too often with new elected officials we saw their friends, companies and associates hired under their administration. The result was usually less than optimum effectiveness. Osborne and Hutchinson suggest competition to save the price of government from rising. Competition keeps prices low. To further stimulate effectiveness and efficiency, the authors suggest rewarding those involved. If the contractor winning the bid completes a job early and under budget, then a portion of the surplus goes back to the taxpayers while a portion goes to the workers as well. The authors claim that not only does this reward workers, but it improves morale of the workers and boosts the public faith in their government. I especially liked the suggestion they based from evidence of forgeign countries. "Shift public workers into private firms taking over the work... Require that contractors pay comparable wages and benefits..." (Page 161) These are but two examples, showing us that this could work. We could move public jobs into the private sector, without losing the quality of life they had established.
   
   "Smarter customer service" is a chapter most of us could benefit from. It brings to light the things we too often do without question. In turn, wasting the company's money and driving costs up for customers. The example of signing time cards of people you don't personally watch was a perfect example. Yet, government needed to respond to a situation years ago in order to save money. Re-evaluate the needs of the organization. The 311 system empowered citizens while holding officials responsible for their departments. The quality must improve to improve the processes. The 311 telephone system brought performance data to a new front while keeping costs low through consolidation. By being more effective, costs are cut for departments, onto governments and maintaining if not lowering the price of government for citizens
   
   They offer insight to many different aspects, focused on the key programs. They also offer practical suggestions and offer ways to deepen what they present, citing very good websites such as www.FirstGov.gov and www.irs.gov/efile. Systems working together will better align the system. The authors suggest in education of current employees for better efficiency as well. The focus should be on the results of the objectives, not solely the money, claiming the authors. They remind us to stay focused on the core objectives, as to not get lost in the activity. They suggest moving power into the hands of the employees, in essence creating "an organization of leaders" (page 322).
   
   All in all, this book is not only very useful, but easy to read as well.



4. This is a another great book written by David Osborne, with practical, yet out of the box ideas on balancing government budgets. A great process that can be emulated by public administrators to focus taxpayer dollars on the most important programs and services. It challenges administrators to go beyond hacking away at every program budget until all the programs are barely running on a shoestring and no one is getting the results that taxpayers want.



5. This book offers a different approach for governments to prioritize their spending. It may not work for every body, but will provide a new way to decide where to put tax dollars to match tax payers priorities.

2 comments about Public Finance Administration.

1. Most material dealing with public finance or budgeting delivers more drudgery than useful information. Reed and Swain cut through buzz words and cliches--their writng provides detailed explanation without confusing the reader, offering a better understanding of how money moves in the public sector. I definitely recommend starting with this book before you go anywhere else.



2. This is a perfect book, in great condition. Thanks for the speediness in sending the book.

No comments about Public Sector Economics: The Role of Government in the American Economy.

3 comments about Governmental Accounting Made Easy.

1. I bought this book to help me study for a Governmental Accounting class final. I wish I had the book the entire semester. It's a well written, concise book that boils down the intricate details of governmental accounting that is presented in text books into the more manageable and understandable essentials. It must have helped, because I ended up receiving an "A" in the course.



2. Very informative.
   I would like to have seen a little more elaboration on a few concepts/topics, but overall a very good book for its purpose.



3. I purchased this book because I was taking a Governmental Accounting class online & the required text was awful! I needed some immediate help, and my instructor was no help so (as usual!), I turned to Amazon.
   
   The title of this book says it all. The author explains the very difficult concepts of governmental accounting very clearly. It is easy to decipher what the funds are and how they inter-relate. This book is very well written and follows a logical, sequencial path. I never would have passed my class without this book!

No comments about Introduction to Government and Non-for-Profit Accounting (6th Edition).

5 comments about Greenspan's Fraud: How Two Decades of His Policies Have Undermined the Global Economy.

1. I almost feel sorry for this guy, everything he predicts has been proven wrong. Now he wants to rewrite history? It is amazing how such a 'boring' man in Greenspan is so fasinating, but for Batra to take the time to smear a man who takes home women and reads them journal articles on monetary policy to impress his date?
   
   I picked this book up for amusement, I couldnt possible believe people here could have taken him seriously! It is a good laugh but after he discredits Greenspan for having success and not even having a PHD!!! Pure LOL



2. I could hardly get through this. There was copious academic jargon that was used to mask the true lack of understanding the author had of the everyday principles that drive everything from Wall Street to a guy selling hot dogs on the street. I chalk this mistake up to an author that has spent too much time viewing the world from his ivory tower. Don't waste your time on this like I did.



3. Batra correctly points out that Greenspan is responsible for mishandling monetary policy by continually bailing out the Wall Street investment banking houses,as well as their all to willing commercial bank accomplices following the 1999 repeal of the Glass -Steagall Act, that have been primarily responsible for converting America from an entrepreneurial-enterprise-investment economy to a speculator economy based on manipulating the financial assets and balance sheets of American corporations in order to generate paper profits without production .The result has been that 3 stock market bubbles have been created-one in the 1980's,one in the 1990's,and one in the 2000's.This last bubble is potentially the most dangerous.It has significant similarities with the Great Depression of the 1930's and the Japanese Depression of 1994-2003.
   
   The real question then becomes how responsible was Greenspan ? Batra glosses over the fact that there are three other regulatory players involved besides the Federal Reserve System's Federal Open Market Committee(FOMC),a quasi private,quasi public agency that controls monetary policy.The other 3 regulatory agencies are the Comptroller of the Currency,the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC),and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation(Federal Savings and Loans Insurance Corporation).All of these agencies have failed to enforce basic loan and creditworthiness standards and requirements.Probably the greatest blame can be assigned to the various chairmen of the SEC after Bill Casey.They have all failed egregiously by failing to protect Main Street from the Wall Street bubble makers.None of these bubbles would have had a chance to get going if Casey were still running the SEC.Greenspan can be assigned no more than 25% of the blame. Batra's other criticisms,such as Greenspan's statements on Social Security and its future prospects as the Baby Boomers retire,is not really relevant since Greenspan had no explicit policy making power in this area.



4. Factual and detailed, this book helps people understand just what happened to cause the present downfall of our once great country. I highly recommend this book to all. I also recommend Kotlikoff's book The Generational Storm...another winner with some solid investment advice.



5. This is probably the best book I have read on economics. The authors really simplifies macroeconomics in laymen's terms. I would recommend this to everyone who want to understand why american economy is so weak and will continue to be so unless fundamental changes happen.

5 comments about Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting: Theory and Practice (9th Edition).

1. I am currently a Masters level student who is taking a Governmental Accounting course. I have found this text to be somewhat confusing. The chapters and the information are very detailed however, the study questions introduce new terms and are hard to follow. This makes for a complicated and frustrating process for anyone who has not had a previous accounting course. I understand that there are not many books out there on this topic. However, a study guide or even the assistance of a glossary and some consistency in phrasing questions to be similar to the text would help. If I can't understand what the question is asking how am I to know if I understand what I thought I just read. The lack of pictures and graphics does not bother me and the blue ink while hard to get used to is easier on my eyes. The Powerpoint presentations were also helpful.



2. In general, this is the worst accounting book I have EVER been forced to decipher (didn't like our cost accounting book either). At my school, and probably elsewhere, ,everybody seems to think Acct 405 (Financial Acct 2) is the "hard" course, but Fin Acct 2, at least to me, has NOTHING on trying to learn governmental accounting from using this awful book.



3. I am not sure why the other reviewers had problems with this book. I actually found it to be quite easy to read and understandble in its explanations of terminology. I work for a software company which sells a budgeting tool. Since realigning over to our public sector division, I decided to buy this book in order to hone my governmental accounting skills. My accounting degree certainly helped and this books assumes a minimal set of accounting skills. The problems were quite helpful in reinforcing the concepts.



4. I am also a Master level student. I read this book and it is a great shame to the profession and a great insult to the public at large, let alone students who have to pay dearly for this textbook with a low rate of return. When discussing Accounting, Ethics should be close at heart to these experts. Unfortunately, it shows none here whatsoever. In general, I find it is a great disturbance for these self-pronounced" experts in Accounting to write such a low quality textbook with a great violation of the technical writing 's ethical category, ie, repetitive, clustered, hard to understand, contradictory sometimes; but most of all the English language used in certain introductory chapters, ie, chapters one and two, full of grammatical errors, punctuations, paragraphs and sentences are ambiguous, vague, and copied directly from the code law book. etc... We have zillions law in the USA, one more to make these authors accountable for their writings and so-called expertise in the field would NOT hurt too much. We, the students are YOUR customers, not the Professors who force your book in our throats! Be ethical, be responsible so we can avoid FRAUD, UNETHICAL practices in the real world. After all, we learn from your textbook for God's sake. Treat us with decency, and kindness, and the world shall be better if not in this generation. And remember when you die, you do not take the earthly paper of award or recognition with you. Leave your good name with a good morality instead. In the commercial world of Capitalism, the customers thrive the demand and supply. Think about it....



5. This textbook does not cause me any frustration due to its inherent lack of color or boring tedious material. As the professor who wrote a review above said, those people should have majored in something that is interesting to them (although, accounting, by definition, can definitely become boring and tedious at times). It is up to the student to instead decide whether working through the material is worth the reward (i.e. an Accounting degree) and if it is what they want to do as a career afterward... anyways, on to the book review:
   
   This book gives me problems in one **major** area, which is that it is simply edited poorly. By this I mean that it is not presented logically, instead in a jumbled-together fashion that makes it difficult to read.
   
   One big issue is that the chapters are not arranged in a logical order to where chapter 1 builds to chapter 2, and so on. We skipped chapters 2-4 and came back to them so we would be able to understand what the book was talking about...
   
   Another problem with this book's organization is its use of references: it tells the reader, within the paragraph, to "refer to examples 1-4, 1-5, and 1-6" to gain further insight on a subject. This sort of reference would be fine, except that the examples it refers to are usually on different pages, often 7-10 pages apart from one another. Any insight that might have been gained from loking up the examples is lost in the process of flipping pages back and forth, over and over.
   
   In conclusion, the main problem with this textbook is the shoddy job of editing that was done. This is partly due to the fact that subsequent revisions chose to keep certain parts, add others, and delete some more, while the author's original intent was most likely to give the student an encompassing view of the subject through the detail and order of the content.
   
   Prentice Hall is notorious for putting out textbooks just like this one. I remember teaching myself Tax due to many of these same reasons, and it too was published by Prentice Hall. Many of their texts are highly technical and do contain good information, but the poor organization of the book itself just plain ruins it. It can be compared to trying to read a newspaper article without the intro or conclusion paragraphs. Sometimes you get lost trying to figure it all out on your own.
   
   In short, try to gain as much knowledge as you can from your instructor in class, because it won't help you one bit to try to read this book. Don't take notes in class, just listen to what the professor says and copy down the problems in class for study later on.
   
   While it is possible to scrape by in class by spending hours on end trying to read *&* comprehend this book, one should not have to. That is not the purpose of education. If this book was written and edited like it should have been, students should be able to open up the chapter and find an easy reference to concepts that they may not understand completely. This book does not provide such references.

5 comments about Essentials of Accounting for Governmental and Not-for-Profit Organizations.

1. I was "lucky" enough to take a governmental accounting course in which this alleged text was the book for the class. It was universally scorned, and at least the school had the good sense to dump it in time for the following semester.
   
   It's so dry that I have a hard time believing it wasn't written in the 1950's, when dry textbooks were the rule of the day. The layout is drabbed and the font is very cramped. It's surprising how cramped type and very little space between lines actually makes reading so much more difficult. You really sense the book was created on a low budget (even though it's WAY overpriced!).
   
   The subject matter, at least for most people, is a bit uninspring anyway, and this text does NOTHING to allay those prejudices. Accounting books are rarely "fun" but they can be presented in a way that's visually interesting, with some real life case studies or examples. Nothing from real life makes its way into this book.
   
   And on top of everything else, the ink is so cheap that it smears if you hold your finger in one place too long, oh, like when you're holding it open to read. So both the content AND the construction are C**P!!!
   
   Avoid!!!



2. This is the first textbook that I haven't been able to read through all the assigned chapters. That's saying a lot since I already have one degree and working on a second.
   
   Wow! The text is extremely dry! No book should have 6 or 7 bolded terms in a row and not bother to explain the terms. Also it makes no distinction between some terms. For instance, appropriations vs. emcumbrance vs. expenditure. I had to figure that out on my own.
   
   As someone else said, this is NOT a self-study book! Granted no accounting book should baby you, but if nobody in the class understands what the hell the book is saying, then there's something wrong. If you're using the book for a class and want to use the PowerPoint slides on the publisher's website, don't bother! They're just as bad as the textbook. They don't have a logical flow to them. They don't even flow with the book. What is at the beginning of a chapter in the book may be at the end of the PowerPoint slides for that chapter. There are big chunks of the chapters missing from the slides.
   
   I can't believe this is the 7th edition of this book! It's written like it was the first edition. The author has no concept of how people study. McGraw-Hill should have stopped publishing this horrendous book after the first edition.



3. This is the worst textbook, ever. I wish my University had the good sense to dump this piece of garbage. It is dry, poorly written, and constructed like garbage. For over 60 dollars for a paperback you would expect a lot more.



4. I am having the 8th Ed. ISBN is: 9780073130965. Worst book I ever have. Don't know why such a stupid book will be used by schools. If I am an instructor using this book to teach students, I feel shame.
   
   Worth less than 1 Star.



5. This is the worst accounting book ever that I purchased and attempted to use for my accounting class. I am a very good student with a 4.0 GPA and read quite easily. However, it was virtually impossible for me to comprehend what was in this book. It consists of hundreds of pages of blabber without any type of structure or common sense flow. It looks like someone got high and just started typing like a maniac, writing down the thought of the moment with some chapter titles and subtitles thrown in just before publishing. It is dense, exceptionally boring and poorly written. It was so hard to plow through this text that I ended up dropping it. It would have stuck to the class if I did not have to put up with this book.

No comments about Government and Not-for-Profit Accounting: Concepts and Practices.

5 comments about Accounting for Governmental and Nonprofit Entities with City of Smithville.

1. This book is poorly written. Unless you know Non-profit accounting, it is not written so that you will learn anything. I'm assuming professors use this book because of the Smithville case and for no other reason. Honestly, I do not feel the Smithville case goes along with the book very well. The authors should have exchanged notes a little more. Unless it is required or you are already working in non-profit accounting, I would not buy this book.



2. This book is a perfect trade off between simplified "for-dummies" type writing that simply acquaints you with the subject matter and a comprehensive text that thoroughly covers the subject. If you are a CPA hopeful, a governmental finance professional or a political science graduate student this is the text for you. Although layout and vocabulary could be simplified for improved readability, once you become familiar with the authors' style the reading is enjoyable.



3. I do not like this book....it jumps and skips from chapter to chapter. Boring.....and I LOVE accounting.



4. The product arrived by the estimated arrival date and in the condition specified. The seller did a great job!!!



5. This is a horrible book! Do not buy it. It is a student's nightmare. If you want to learn about government and nonprofit accounting, you're NOT going to gain much, if any, knowledge from this book. The authors do not use plain language, but talk back on themselves in sentences so that the flow of thought is interrupted and you must eliminate words in order to continue the flow, or switch thoughts entirely and then switch back-many times the subject of the sentence is completely lost and never finished. Many unnecessary comments, such as "need not be discussed here" and "as one would expect" plus excessive references to other chapters and Illustrations that are useless. Very limited on examples; I found it necessary to search the internet for the answers to the questions at the end of the chapters because the questions are not worded in relation to the information stated in the chapter, and the problems utilized account names never discussed in the book.
   
   If you have a strong foundation in government or nonprofit accounting, then this book might be useful as a reference. For a student just learning about the systems, it is pretty worthless.
   
   Professors, I beg that you use the feedback from students to develop a book from which we can actually learn these procedures. I never looked forward to an accounting class more than this one, and I'm so disappointed and feel like I've wasted my money. I know that the professors have the knowledge to teach the information in a way that we understand, so just put that into hardcopy and produce a proper book for students!
   
   For an online class using this book, don't waste your time or money.