Americans have high expectations for their governments. They expect them to deliver public services effectively and efficiently; to provide leadership based on such commonly held values as community cohesion and fairness; to serve the public interest at reasonable cost; and simultaneously to remain accountable and responsive.

Increasingly, Americans expect certain courtesies when they use government services. According to Alan Altshuler and Marc Zegans in an article in the February 1990 issue of Cities magazine, "Americans feel aggrieved if bureaucrats treat their problems mechanically, `by the book,' rather than with sensitivity to their unique concerns."

Although public expectations remain high, several factors have combined to hamstring state and local government, particularly in the last 15 years. First, available resources have shrunk as a result of federal spending reductions and, in some jurisdictions, caps on state and local taxes. Second, the responsibilities imposed on state and local governments, far from being reduced, have grown substantially. Third, notions of government as ineffective and a drain on society have gained popularity. Not only must state and local employees cope with more work and fewer resources, they also have less public support.

These days a career in public service too often lacks glamor. Attracting and retaining talented personnel, one of the maxims of good business, seems to be difficult. Moreover, although the public may complain about a lack of imagination and initiative in their public servants, they still tend to applaud politicians who promise tighter controls on the "swollen bureaucracy." Wherever people stand on the political spectrum, they tend to question giving "too much" discretion to government