Robert M. La Follette School of Public Policy Commencement Address

May 19, 2013

Bob Lang

Thank you for inviting me to be a part of the celebration of your commencement -- graduation from the University of Wisconsin's Robert M. La Follette School of Public Policy.

I have had the privilege of serving in Wisconsin's Legislative Fiscal Bureau with many La Follette graduates, including the 10 who are currently colleagues of mine at the Bureau. I am honored to be with you today.

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I have two favorite commencement speeches.

The first, written 410 years ago, was not delivered to a graduating class, but rather, to an individual. It was, however, a commencement address in the true meaning of the word -- that is to recognize a beginning -- a transition from the present to the future. And, in the traditional sense of commencement speeches, was filled with advice.

The speech was given by a father to his son, in Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Polonius, chief councilor to Denmark's King Claudius, gives his son Laertes sage advice as the young man patiently waits for his talkative father to complete his lengthy speech and bid him farewell before the son sets sail for France to

Page 1 continue his studies.

"Those friends thou hast, grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel."

"Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice."

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be."

"This above all, to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man."

The second of my favorite commencement addresses was delivered to a graduating college class by Thornton Mellen.

"And so, to all you graduates -- as you go into the world, my advice is …

Don't go.

It's rough out there.

Move back with your parents.

Let them worry about it."

Some of you will remember those lines, delivered by Thornton Mellen as played by Rodney Dangerfield in the 1986 classic, "Back to School", parts of which were filmed on the UW-Madison campus.

I believe that your families would hope that you would adhere to the words of Polonius rather than those of Mellen.

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Page 2 If you look out the windows of this chamber -- to my right -- you will be looking down State Street and see Bascom Hill and the beginning of the Madison campus.

It is fitting that you have chosen to hold this ceremony in this building and this chamber. It is representative of your leaving the campus and entering work in the field of public service.

You are well equipped to begin this journey.

You have all excelled in your academic pursuits, in high school, your undergraduate studies, and course work at La Follette.

You have all expressed an interest in public service -- be it in government or a non-profit setting.

You chose to attend one of the premier graduate schools of public policy in this nation -- ranked by U.S. News and World Report as among the very elite of all of the hundreds of public policy schools in this country.

You have been educated and trained by a talented, dedicated faculty; exposed to practitioners in the field; and supported by staff and administrators of the La Follette School and the Madison campus.

You follow many who have preceded you -- graduates from the La Follette School who have distinguished themselves in their careers and have enhanced La Follette's reputation and opened doors for you.

The La Follette School has been a bridge that connects the two ends of State

Page 3 Street. Members of the La Follette faculty have served as advisors to governors and legislators, participated in study committees, and helped draft legislation. La Follette students have served as interns in numerous state government agencies and now fill positions as policy analysts, fiscal analysts, program evaluators, administrators, and elected officials.

This was the vision of Robert M. La Follette -- the university and state government working together to do good things for people of Wisconsin.

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I joined the staff of the Legislative Fiscal Bureau in 1971 and have been its Director since 1977.

Last summer, I attended a lecture in Chicago given by Alan Rosenthal on his most recent book, "The Best Job in Politics". Alan is a professor of public policy and political science at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. He has written numerous publications on state government and has long been recognized as the leading authority on state legislatures and the legislative process. I have known Alan for many years and was pleased to see him and spend some time with him after his address.

I asked him to sign his book for me which he did. He inscribed the book as follows -- "To Bob -- over three decades on the firing line and hit by fewer than a thousand bullets."

As a nonpartisan working for decades in a highly partisan setting, I interpreted Alan's words as a complement and succinct summary of my career.

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My comments may not be as profound as those of Polonius or as entertaining as those of Thornton Mellen -- but I want to share with you some of my thoughts and experiences that have shaped me and my work with the Wisconsin Legislature.

At the onset of my career, it was my fortune to have been mentored by three individuals who earned state and national recognition for their many years of legislative service.

The first was Dale Cattanach. With the aid of a three-year grant from the Ford Foundation, Dale began the Fiscal Bureau in the mid-1960s. He remained its Director until 1977 when he was appointed Secretary of the Department of Transportation under Governor Schreiber. He then finished his distinguished career of public service for many years as the State's Auditor and head of the Legislative Audit Bureau. Dale hired me in September, 1971.

He was a superb analyst and an astute observer of, and participant in, the workings of the Legislature. He set high standards for himself and demanded excellence from those who worked with him.

The second was Dr. H. Rupert Theobald. Rupert was born in Germany. In 1950, he came to the states to study at the University of Wisconsin. In 1957, he applied for a civil service position with the Legislative Reference Bureau. When applying for a civil service position, preferential points were given to anyone who was a veteran. Rupert was a veteran and filled out his application as such. During his interview for the position he was asked about his service and indicated that he served with the German Army in World War II. When questioned about his

Page 5 application, Rupert said that the form only asked if one was a veteran, it didn't ask of which country. He was granted the points and selected for the position. In 1964, he became the Chief of the Reference Bureau; a position he held for 30 years.

Rupert was an excellent researcher and bill drafter. He was instrumental in bringing the Legislature into the modern age of technology and in developing computer applications for bill drafting and other aspects of legislative work.

The third was Bonnie Reese. Bonnie was from Logan, Utah, and attended Utah State University. She was the valedictorian of her 1953 college graduating class. Bonnie came to Wisconsin and entered graduate school at UW-Madison. In 1957, she accepted a position with Wisconsin's Legislative Council Staff and became the head of that agency in 1971 -- the first woman in Wisconsin named to direct any office of state government.

She rightly earned the respect, confidence, and trust of all in state government, regardless of political persuasion, or branch, because of her knowledge, integrity, and leadership skills.

I took every opportunity I could to learn from the three of them -- and each of them was a willing mentor.

A common thread of integrity, intellect, talent, and hard work bound these three together. I was greatly influenced by them. They instilled in me the value of public service and the right that our state's citizens had to expect dedication and excellence from those of us privileged to serve them.

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I was appointed to the position of Director of the Legislative Fiscal Bureau in July, 1977. The appointing authority was the Legislature's Joint Committee on Legislative Organization; a 10-member Committee comprised of the majority and minority party leaders of the Senate and Assembly. At the time, the Democrats were the majority party in both houses and had six of the 10 votes on the Joint Committee. Then Senator Bill Bablitch, the Senate Majority Leader, nominated me for the position. Given the non-partisan nature of the Fiscal Bureau, it was important to me and the Bureau that my candidacy would be supported with votes from each party.

Fortunately, the four Republicans supported Senator Bablitch's motion. The Republicans were John Shabaz, who would later be appointed by President Reagan to a federal judgeship; Tommy Thompson, who was subsequently elected Governor of Wisconsin and served as Secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush; James Sensenbrenner, who was later elected to, and still serves in, the U.S. House of Representatives; and Clifford "Tiny" Krueger.

Senator Krueger was the Minority Leader of the Senate.

As a young man he became fascinated with the circus. In the summers of 1936 and 1937, while still in high school, he joined the Seils-Sterling Circus, based in Sheboygan, that travelled throughout the midwest. Weighing 425 pounds, he performed under the name -- "Jolly Tiny."

He was devoted to Robert M. La Follette and La Follette's Progressive Party.

Page 7 In 1942, he ran for the State Senate as a member of the Progressive Party and lost. In 1946, the Progressive party folded, and although a number of its members moved to the Democratic Party, Tiny joined the Republican Party, which had been the political base that Robert La Follette left decades earlier.

Tiny was elected to the Senate in 1946 as a Republican, but never abandoned his progressive principles.

In 1977, he inserted into the state's budget an appropriation of $12,000 for the purchase and permanent display in the State Capitol of Jo Davidson's bust of Robert M. La Follette, Sr.

Jo Davidson was the sculptor who made the statutes of La Follette and Oklahoma's Will Rodgers, which are housed in the United States Capitol.

In the 1981 session of the Legislature, I had briefed Senate Republicans on the state's budget in the afternoon of when the vote on the budget was to be taken. Following that, Senator Krueger called me into his office. He was seated in the large, oversized chair that was made for him. He was undecided as to his vote on the budget and, I thought, wanted to discuss further with me, some of its provisions.

I began to review some of the bill's major provisions. Shortly thereafter, he stopped me and said "Bob, what would the old man do?" I didn't understand his question and said, "Sir?" asking him to repeat it. He again said "What would the old man do?" and nodded his head to a portrait of Robert M. La Follette that hung in his office.

Page 8 It was a moment that I will never forget -- clearly one of the most memorable in all of my years with the Legislature.

I was, for that moment, in the presence of two of the great political figures of this state -- Robert M. La Follette, and his last disciple to run on the Progressive ticket -- Tiny Krueger.

I don't remember how he voted. But I do know that his vote was cast with conviction to the principles that he established throughout his life.

I was fortunate to have been in the Senate chamber when Senator Krueger gave his farewell speech in 1983. And he urged his colleagues to remember La Follette's dream of universal dignity. He said, "You must remind those who want to delay the dream that human dignity is not a privilege dependent upon prosperity, it is a right upon which prosperity itself depends."

He concluded with the words of St. Paul, "I have fought the good fight. I have kept the faith."

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Over the years, I have had an opportunity to visit many state capitol buildings across the country. Although admittedly biased, I have yet to find one that matches the architectural design and majesty of this Capitol.

I have observed one other difference about this building and all of the others that I have visited. It is common for state capitols to display statutes, plaques, portraits, and other recognitions of elected officials who have served in the state or federal government -- governors, members of the United States Congress, cabinet

Page 9 secretaries, and legislative leaders.

In this Capitol, such recognition is provided to but two elected officials -- Robert M. La Follette, whose bust is in the rotunda, and Albert Hall. Hall is recognized on the plaque to my right.

Albert Hall was from Knapp, Wisconsin -- a small village in Dunn County, near the UW-Stout campus. Today, Knapp has a population of just 465.

Hall was elected to the State Assembly in 1890 and reelected for five consecutive terms. He spent years fighting what he believed was corruption with the state's railroads -- including low tax rates, higher fares than neighboring states, and free passes for elected officials.

His efforts proved to be the first step towards addressing ethical issues in state government, reforming the tax code and, ultimately, ushering in Wisconsin's legendary era of progressive reforms.

Upon his death in 1905, Albert Hall was the first person to be honored with a bronze memorial plaque inside the Wisconsin State Assembly. That year the Assembly and Senate issued a resolution praising the man "… whose noble record should serve as an inspiration worthy of emulation."

It would be another 70 years before recognition in the Capitol would be given to the second elected official when the bust of Robert La Follette was approved by the Legislature for display in the rotunda.

There are however, four other individuals who have been honored and recognized in this building for their service to the people of this state. Each had

Page 10 distinguished careers as staff in non-partisan service to the Legislature.

The first so honored was Charles McCarthy.

McCarthy was born in Brockton, Massachusetts in 1873. He graduated from Brown University. While at Brown, although weighting only 128 pounds, he was a member of the football team and earned All-American honors. He then entered law school at the University of Georgia. To pay for school, he coached the University's football team, following the legendary coach "Pop" Warner, and compiled a 6-3 record in 1897 and 1898; including wins each year over Georgia Tech and Clemson.

After receiving his law degree from Georgia, he enrolled in the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He was drawn to Madison because of the work of Richard Ely, a renowned economist and leader of the progressive movement. While at the University, McCarthy studied history, politics, and economics, and was awarded a Ph.D. in history 1901.

Following his studies, McCarthy was hired to head a newly-created legislative agency -- the Legislative Reference Bureau. The Bureau was the first agency of its kind in the nation to provide professional, non-partisan research and bill drafting services to a state legislature.

At the same time, Robert M. La Follette was elected Governor of Wisconsin.

La Follette and the progressives in the Legislature came to rely on McCarthy. He helped write many of their major reform laws including the civil service law (1905), the regulation of utilities (1907), and in 1911, the workers compensation and work place safety law, and the nation's first individual income tax.

Page 11 In 1912, McCarthy published, "The Wisconsin Idea," a summary of goals and accomplishments of the progressive movement.

In addition to his work with the Wisconsin Legislature, McCarthy was an advisor to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson.

McCarthy died on March 26, 1921. In July of that year, the State Legislature appropriated $1,500 for a medallion portrait, in bronze, of Dr. Charles McCarthy to be kept in some suitable place in the Capitol building.

That medallion portrait was placed in this chamber on the wall to my left.

The other three individuals who are recognized in this building are my mentors, Dale Cattanach, whose plaque is at the back of this chamber; Rupert Theobald, also recognized at the back of this chamber; and Bonnie Reese. Following her death in 1989, the Legislature passed a resolution to permanently name Room 225 Northwest of the Capitol, the "Bonnie Reese Room".

These four individuals were recognized by the state Legislature for their public service. They were all scholars and practitioners of public policy and dedicated their lives to the betterment of this state and its citizens.

They set a standard of excellence in public service that all of us who enter this service have a responsibility to uphold.

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In his book "The Wisconsin Idea," Charles Mc Carthy dedicated his work as

Page 12 follows:

"To the hard-handed men who broke the prairie, hewed the forests, made the roads and bridges, and built little homes in the wilderness.

To the Norse lumberjack, and the men of the 'Iron Brigade', and all toilers who, by their sweat, made possible our schools, a great university, and all the good that is with us.

To legislators, always criticised and never praised."

He concluded his dedication with these words from Kipling:

"They that dig foundations deep,

fit for realms to rise upon,

little honor they reap,

of their generation,"

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I respect the Legislature and the people who serve in it. I did so in 1971 when I joined the Legislative Fiscal Bureau and I do so today -- 42 years later.

Our representative democracy has, as its foundation, the legislative branch of our government.

It is an institution comprised of men and women with the courage to place

Page 13 their name on a ballot and ask their neighbors to let them be their representative at the seat of government -- to raise their taxes, maintain their environment, educate their children, care for their elderly, build their roads, protect their property, and keep them safe.

It is an institution steeped in tradition -- one that sets its own rules, speaks its own language, and moves at its own, often irregular, pace.

It functions on compromise and recognition of differences. By nature of its make-up -- 132 individuals from diverse backgrounds and geographic regions -- it rarely speaks with one voice or agrees on issues.

Serving it has been fulfilling and rewarding work. The members have been kind to me. They have forgiven my failures, applauded my successes, and let me speak. For this, I have been, and will always be, grateful.

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Throughout all of my years at the Fiscal Bureau, I have been privileged to have been part of an incredible staff -- highly talented individuals who chose to enter the field of public service.

They came from different academic backgrounds -- law, economics, history, political science, and business. Many, like you, graduated from schools of public policy -- Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, Syracuse, Harvard, Wisconsin.

When I had the opportunity to become the Bureau's Director in 1977, I had two concerns about accepting the position.

The first was that I would be following a legend, Dale Cattanach, and the

Page 14 standards that he set not only for Wisconsin, but for legislative fiscal offices throughout the country.

The second was that I had very limited knowledge of much of the subject matter and issues of state government. Although I was comfortable in the areas that I had worked on as an analyst -- school finance, vocational education, and property taxes -- I had almost no exposure to the areas of health care, transportation, income maintenance programs, the environment, and a host of others.

I could do nothing about my first concern but accept it.

I decided that I would set out to address my second concern and learn everything I could about each state agency, program, and budget. I defined my role as the Director of the Bureau to be one where I would be more knowledgeable about each of the assignments in the Bureau than the analysts responsible for these areas.

After six weeks on this course, I realized that I had neither the physical nor mental capacity to achieve this goal. I abandoned it.

I came to the realization that my primary responsibility was to support the others on the staff, not compete with them. My role was to provide resources, hire talent, and give that talent the opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed.

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Page 15 I am approaching the sunset of my journey -- you are at the sunrise of yours.

I hope that your path will be filled with mentors who will guide you, and individuals who will inspire you.

I hope that you respect the work that you engage in, and the people that you work with and for.

I hope that you use your talents and knowledge to the fullest.

I hope that you find your work interesting, challenging, rewarding, and fulfilling.

And, as your career enters its twilight, I hope that you can look back and proudly say that you've been hit by fewer than a thousand bullets.

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I will conclude by reading a portion of the preface that Charles Mc Carthy wrote in his 1912 book, "The Wisconsin Idea."

His words of 101 years ago certainly apply to me today, and I believe to you, also.

"I, a wandering student, seeking knowledge, came knocking at the gates of the great University of Wisconsin, and it took me in, filled me with inspiration, and when I left its doors the kindly people of the state stretched out welcoming hands and gave me a man's work to do."

Thank you.

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