The Most Important Issueprioritizing issues for a policy agenda

(or candidate questionnaire)

PublicSupport

Net Social Impact

Operational Feasibility

Look at each policy or issue through this lens.Ask: Is the policy primed to create public value?

Value for the public is created when a policy proposal meets all 3 criteria

Everything that follows are questions/approaches to help us assess whether an issue falls in the “sweet spot” of the previous slide.

What are important shared values for this community?

Does this policy proposal express and enhance important values, or conflict with and diminish them?

Does the issue or policy affirm communal values?

alohakuleana

family

work

compassion

stewardshipsustainabilityself-reliance

equalityindependence

opportunity

fairness justice

Do constituents understand and care about the issue?

The Pledge: You will never, under any circumstances, vote to raise taxes on anyone.

"People say, 'Oh, Grover Norquist has power.' No. Grover Norquist and Americans for Tax Reform focus on the tax issue. The tax issue is a powerful issue.

- Grover Norquist

By many accounts, Hawaii has a 10-day supply of food in the event of crisis. I support developing a program that leases land (whether it be state, county, or private land) at substantially reduced rates for farmers that pledge to grow and sell food locally, and encourages schools to purchase locally-grown food.

Social impact is often difficult or impossible to measure. Here are some commonly used frameworks …

• greatest good for greatest number• most urgent or acute needs• economic cost-benefit analysis

Is there a policy proposal that produces net benefit?

Example: State Funded Pre-K Education

“Economically speaking, early childhood programs are a good investment, with inflation-adjusted annual rates of return on the funds dedicated to these programs estimated to reach 10 percent or higher. Very few alternative investments can promise that kind of return.”

- Ben Bernanke, July 2012

Does the policy proposal have negative and unintended impacts?

• Who are the losers and what do they lose?• What are the “opportunity costs”?• What are the possible unintended consequences?• Can either of the above be mitigated?

Tends to not work well…• “legislating values”• “job creation policies”

Tends to work pretty well…• investment in physical infrastructure• investment in human resources• rules to protect against “market failures”

Is the issue a place where government typically works well or where it tends to screw things up?