When I was a boy growing up in central Ohio, my father didn\u2019t join the country club until my senior year of high school. That summer, I was playing Legion baseball when he asked if I wanted to take golf lessons instead. I told him no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trying to persuade me, he said, \u201cYou can play golf all your life, and there\u2019s an excellent teacher at the club named Walker Inman\u2014his father was Bobby Jones\u2019s roommate and teammate at Georgia Tech. There\u2019s also a teaching pro who comes in the summer named Jack Grout. He\u2019s Jack Nicklaus\u2019s coach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I declined; certain baseball was the better use of my summer. In hindsight, that was a mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thirty years later, driving through Meridian, Idaho, I noticed a construction trailer on a parcel of land destined to become Spur Wing Golf Course. When the trailer door opened, I immediately recognized \u201cDickey\u201d Grout\u2014Jack Grout\u2019s son\u2014whom I had once babysat in Upper Arlington. Dick was the first club pro at Spur Wing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I asked Dick to give me a lesson based on the same principles his father had taught Jack Nicklaus. What I remember most wasn\u2019t the swing advice but a story he shared from his childhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He told me that when he was about ten, he watched his father give Nicklaus a lesson. Midway through, young Dick realized that Nicklaus wasn\u2019t following his father\u2019s instruction precisely. Still, his ball flight was flawless. Jack Grout said nothing. Later, he explained: \u201cIf the result is perfect, you don\u2019t change a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are two ways to analyze a golf swing. You can dissect every fundamental\u2014stance, grip, shoulder position, clubface alignment, follow-through\u2014or you can simply look at the shot. If the shot is perfect, don\u2019t meddle. If it\u2019s off, you need adjustments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That simple truth would serve Idaho\u2019s political leadership well this legislative session. Watching committee hearings, budget meetings, and floor debates, I see lawmakers going through all the motions of governance\u2014but their \u201cshots\u201d are way off target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The budget-setting process, for example, proceeds without serious inquiry into ongoing waste and mismanagement inside the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, especially within Medicaid. Ignoring these issues doesn\u2019t just make for a poor shot; it ensures a bad round. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ve all seen the red flags: the troubled LUMA project, unanswered questions surrounding the Idaho Health Data Exchange (\u201cWhere did $125 million go?\u201d), and an estimated billion dollars in potential Medicaid fraud when compared to national benchmarks. If Idaho\u2019s fraud rate is even half the national average, the problem is staggering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, when leaders avert their eyes and postpone accountability until after election season, it isn\u2019t ignorance\u2014it\u2019s intention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As citizens, we don\u2019t need elite policy analysis to judge performance. Just look at the shot. If this year\u2019s budget doesn\u2019t include funding for independent, third-party audits of Medicaid and the Department of Health and Welfare, the results speak for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At that point, it\u2019s fair to conclude that both Republicans and Democrats have \u201cwhiffed.\u201d Either they\u2019re poor stewards of taxpayer money, or they care more about keeping their seats than keeping the state solvent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If Idaho fails to act, it could soon find itself in the same troubled financial rough as Minnesota and California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just like in golf, the fundamentals matter\u2014but only if the shot tells the truth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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