A widely applicable truism about organizations — whether businesses or public schools — that systems prioritize that which they measure.  The folly of this principle came to mind while reviewing the Division of Statewide Planning’s still-new Social Equity Data Platform.  What you see, there, is a map of Rhode Island with some shaded overlays of areas designated as the following, the names of which give a clear sense of the purpose:

• Justice40 Indicator
• ETC Disadvantaged Communities
• RI Environmental Justice Factors
• Health Equity Zone
• Narragansett Indian Tribe Reservation

The last is a genuine area of unique interest, but the first four are progressive marketing gimmicks to focus public policy on chosen constituencies.  I say “gimmicks,” because one could nearly call them measures of urbanity.  At least in the areas with which I’m familiar, there are no surprises, and the value of having precise boundaries isn’t clear.

What one doesn’t see are areas in which businesses are struggling.  There’s no designation for high-tax areas.  The map’s obvious intent is to help government planners visualize the areas of greatest opportunity for government services.  The masters of the government plantation are using taxpayer dollars to better identify their real customers.

In this, we see the insidious methods of government planning.  An organization has to plan toward something, and once the tracks are laid, they cannot easily be redirected.  So, progressives design the future they want to see — one in which government and its satellites collect a healthy markup for the redistribution of wealth based on the need for government services —  and then direct our shared resources toward actualizing their dreams.

This model is incompatible with both governance by the People and prosperity, which call for a smaller government tasked with setting the groundwork for broad flourishing.  But there’s no profit for the plantation masters in truly being public servants.

Featured image by Justin Katz using Dall-E 3.