ABSTRACT
Problems in the areas of air pollution, health care, mass transit, and energy conservation are all the responsibility of local governments. These responsibilities, combined with the growing interdependence among federal, state, and local governments, have exacerbated the consequences of poor government performance. The New American Revolution promised to give federally collected revenues back to state and local governments without federal “strings,” to be spent to meet locally determined needs in accordance with locally determined policies and priorities. Responding to the pleas of local officials, Richard M. Nixon proclaimed that if local governments were given the tools they needed they could “finish the job.” As local officials and local citizens turn to the difficult challenge of managing their governments for better performance, it must be recognized that, in the short term, some may have few options available to them.
