Katherine Kersten: Meet two who know how to be responsible

Sometimes it seems the news from Washington couldn't get worse. With their addiction to spending, President Obama and Congress appear willing to mortgage not just our children's future but our great-grandchildren's as well to impose their big-government ambitions.

Fortunately, some political leaders offer an alternative vision. Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey are creating state-based laboratories that showcase the benefits of limited government.

Daniels, a former businessman, spends weekends riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle around Indiana, talking with voters.

When he came to office in 2004, Indiana had a hefty deficit and hadn't balanced its budget in seven years. Four years later, it boasted a budget surplus of $1.3 billion. Home property taxes have been cut dramatically -- by a third, in most cases -- and are capped at 1 percent of a home's value. For the first time since the 1970s, more people are moving to Indiana than leaving.

Daniels has achieved this by governing with a private-sector-style discipline and a relentless focus on quality and efficiency. "Government's the last great monopoly, overcharging and underserving its customers," he told BusinessWeek. As governor, he has said, he does what businessmen do: "You look for underperforming assets and turn them around."

Job creation is Daniels' top priority. But he puts businesspeople and entrepreneurs -- not "stimulus" or "bailouts" -- at the center. The result: This year, Indiana, with only 2 percent of the nation's population, has created 7 percent of America's new jobs.

Daniels is adamant about curbing spending on public employees. On his first day in office, he jettisoned an executive order giving state workers collective-bargaining rights. He's also initiated a "pay for performance" policy, rewarding state employees who meet specific goals. On his watch, the state payroll has fallen from 35,000 workers to less than 30,000 -- its level in 1982.

In Indiana, only 61 cents of every educational dollar makes it into the classroom. Now when local school boards request more money, voters can use Daniels' "Citizens' Checklist" to ensure that officials are taking every possible cost-cutting measure -- like eliminating professional association membership fees and outsourcing custodial services.

Hoosiers love Daniels' policies. He won by a narrow margin in 2004 but was reelected in 2008 by 18 points, even as Indiana lined up for Obama.

In New Jersey, Chris Christie made news in 2009 when his election as a Republican in one of America's bluest states was hailed as a barometer of public dissatisfaction with Obama and Big Government.

The Garden State has one of the nation's highest tax burdens. After decades of overspending, it teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, as productive residents and businesses flee out-of-control tax increases -- 115 in the last eight years.

Christie's solution? Slash the taxes and regulations that kill jobs and hamper wealth creation. To do this, he has taken on the state's public-sector unions -- arguably the nation's most powerful. There are "two classes of citizens in New Jersey," says this blunt former U.S. attorney. "Those who enjoy rich public benefits and those who pay for them."

Is it "fair to have New Jersey taxpayers foot the bill for 100 percent of the health-insurance costs of teachers and their families from the day they are hired until the day they die?" Christie demanded. After he urged voters to reject school budgets if teachers in their districts didn't accept a one-year wage freeze, fed-up citizens flocked to the polls -- defeating almost two-thirds of local school-budget proposals.

Recently, Christie has celebrated other victories. Two weeks ago, the legislature approved his fiscal 2011 budget, which slashed spending and closed a $10.7 billion gap without raising taxes. Lawmakers also failed to override his veto of a so-called millionaire's tax hike. Now he's pushing to cap annual property-tax increases at 2.5 percent.

Christie's message of reform should resonate across the nation as the 2010 elections approach: "If we can do it in New Jersey, it can be done anywhere." Watch out, big spenders, wherever you are.