The Sharblog

Survey Says

How much of your tax dollar do you think the government wastes? According to the results of a Gallup survey issued last week, most Americans think the answer is 51 cents of every dollar. This is the first time since Gallup started asking this question in 1979 that Americans believe more than half of federal spending is wasted. The low point was 38 cents in 1986. And most Americans believe that the federal government is the biggest “waster” compared to state and local governments, where they estimate the waste at 42 cents and 38 cents respectively, reinforcing that most Americans have greater trust in government the closer it is to them.

This Gallup survey correlates with another survey done last year by the Pew Research Center where just 22 percent of Americans said that they can trust the federal government almost always or most of the time. This is among the lowest such measures in half a century. A dismal economy, an unhappy public, partisan-based backlash and discontent with Congress and elected officials in general have created what Pew called "a perfect storm of conditions" associated with distrust of government.

Moving to approval ratings of President Obama and Congress, we don’t see much better results. The president’s latest Gallup job approval numbers are at 41 percent approval and 50 percent disapproval. Congress comes in at an amazing 15 percent approval and 82 percent disapproval. 

So this is where we are now. Most people don’t trust their government and they think it’s wasting a significant amount of the money we send it as taxpayers. This is not a good place to be as a country. And I don’t care what party you support. While I don’t have any survey results to back it up, my hunch is that things aren’t a whole lot better in other countries around the globe. From reading the newspaper and watching TV, our European counterparts don’t seem to have a high level of public admiration either, and if you move to other parts of the globe – like the Middle East – outright insurrection and revolution are taking place. So the whole world population is in a funk right now about their governments and the leaders in charge. The current economic mess has a lot to do with it.

Yet, in this dismal environment we still have people who are willing to run for office in this country. Look at what’s happening with the race for the Republican nomination for president. It’s a huge field of candidates. (I personally hope it will get narrowed soon as it is difficult to keep them all straight. You almost need a scorecard!) It shows that no matter how bad it gets in America, there are always some men and women who believe things can get better, and who want to try and make it happen by serving in leadership positions. And that includes the current president. Let’s hope they are right and it happens soon. It can’t get much worse.

Strength in Numbers

This week, I began a one-year term as chairman of the Texas Society of Association Executives (TSAE). I am honored to have been selected for this leadership position and proud that it will allow me to represent TSCPA to the larger association community and world as a result. My service and participation in TSAE over the past several years has provided me with a wealth of knowledge and contacts with other association professionals that I firmly believe makes me a better CEO for TSCPA and a better person. In this blog, I thought I would share the three key message points I delivered to the TSAE members at our recent meeting. 

Be Proud You Work for an Association

 First, I told TSAE members that they should be proud to be working in the field of association management because of the important role that associations play in our society. And it is not a new role. Associations are part of the fabric of America. Forming associations is in our DNA as Americans. This has been true since the formation of our country.

Our founding fathers were brilliant when they embedded into our constitution the right of association of the people. And Americans have taken that right and used it to create what I think is one of the central strengths of our democracy – where the power is with the multitude and not a powerful elite. That is the central theory of association – the synergy that joining forces provides – allowing the group the ability to accomplish things that no one individual could. Simply put, it is “strength in numbers.”

Work to Make Associations Better

Next, I reminded my colleagues that we must strive to make our associations better. Sometimes we (myself included) who work in the association and non-profit community lapse into a mentality that because we are “non-profit” or “tax exempt” organizations that the rules are different for us. We feel we can’t compete with the rest of the profit-making world, or we don’t have to care about how we operate or try to be on the cutting edge or look for best practices to emulate.

That was never true and in today’s fast-paced world, it is a recipe and a mentality for disaster. Non-profit/tax exempt is just a tax status. It is not an excuse for poor performance or customer service. While we are not businesses, we need to operate in a business-like way, evaluating our programs and services on a regular basis – dropping those that are outdated and no longer worthwhile, eliminating “sacred cows”  and maximizing the use of the resources available to us to make our organizations best serve the needs of our constituencies.

Look to Your Professional Organization

 

To help on that front, I told my audience to look to TSAE, their professional association. That would be my same advice to CPAs and members of TSCPA – look to TSCPA, your professional association, for help. TSCPA is there to assist you in becoming a better professional, and you can obtain ideas and solutions for the day-to-day challenges you face in your own employment position and organization.

Lastly, let us know what you want from TSCPA. How can we serve your needs as members? Provide your input so we can help shape TSCPA to be the best association possible. TSCPA belongs to you – we want to make TSCPA the best it can be. We need your input and direction to achieve that goal.