Bloomberg’s Letter to Barack Obama
The November 3, 2008 issue of Newsweek contained a letter from Mayor Michael Bloomberg to the President-Elect (and now Barack Obama). This blog is strictly non-political and will remain that way, but Mr. Bloomberg offers a great commercial for portfolio management applied at the public sector level.
In his letter to the president, Bloomberg writes,
“In exchange for legislation creating an infrastructure bank that funds projects based strictly on merit, agree to invest more money on the infrastructure our country needs most. And you should also demand more from the states and cities that get federal money: hold them accountable for building on time and on budget. Call it a “New New Deal”: investing more, more wisely and getting bigger returns.”
I’m not sure there has been a better encapsulation of what portfolio management is all about. I am pretty sure that government and citizens ultimately would benefit significantly from the approach Mayor Bloomberg is advocating. Competition for funding and holding people accountable for results always yields good results.
