Archive for category Budgets
Obstruction of Government
Posted by Tom in Budgets, Employment, Politics, State Finances, Unions on March 25, 2011
Stephen Hayes and john McCormack chronicle the Democrats obstruction of government in their Weekly Standard article, On Wisconsin! They detail the fight, the several attempts at compromise, the bifurcation of the public employee bill, into a budgetary section and non-budgetary section, the independent legislative counsel’s blessing on that bifurcation and the ultimate passage of the bill restricting collective bargaining.
The fact that screams for attention is that the November election put the Republicans in control of both houses of the legislature and the governor’s mansion. The Republicans ran on platforms that the Democrats and public unions were bankrupting the state. The voters understood the danger of the unholy alliance between Democratic politicians and public union leaders: taxpayer money from the public trough went thru the union employee paychecks to the union bosses then back to elect the Democrat politicians. Incest at its best. No checks, no balances, no taxpayer input, unfettered theft! Well, the taxpayers did get their input at the ballot box in November and input they did.
In an historically Democratic state, a birthplace of so called “progressivism,” the voters kicked out the majority Democrats and installed a Republican government. But all the elected, Democrat and Republican, took an oath of office to uphold the constitution under which they were elected and sworn into office. At times it may be ugly but in the state democracies joined together in this republic under our constitution, the majority, fairly elected, is the government. Period!
It is obvious that those sacred oaths were only so many words to the defaulting Democrats. They were meaningless when put to the test. The elected minority, rather than honor their duties, deserted their offices, left the state, took a powder, went on the lamb. Dereliction of duty? Yes. Obstruction of government? Surely!
So after several attempts to cajole the recalcitrant Democrats to return, the legislature passed the ordinance freeing the state taxpayers, the voters from the most heinous aspects of the public employee union lock on the state treasury. The national brouhaha sponsored by President Obama and the national unions were only so much puff. The voters in Wisconsin and elsewhere realize that public unions have no place in a democracy, no competitive checks and balances to keep them and their political bosses honest. They have stolen way too much so far and amassed way too many unfunded liabilities yet to come.
The taxpayers are hurting and its time to stop this incestuous alliance. On Wisconsin!
Time For A Little Humor…….Aw WTF!
Posted by Tom in Budgets, Deficit, Fiscal Policy, Humor, National Debt, Politics, Presidency on February 23, 2011
Sorry but I couldn’t resist!
Leftist Confronts Problems of His Own Making
Posted by Tom in Budgets, California, Deficit, State Finances, Unions on February 20, 2011
The picture of a Democratic governor confronting the out-of-control public pension mess that he himself initiated in his earlier term. California pension payouts have gone from $2 Billion to $6 Billion in 10 years. Of course, there’s a lot of games played with last minute promotions, etc. to maximise those generous payouts. The state’s program is underfunded and those unfunded liabilities don’t show up on the accounting books.
Those books show a $25.4 Billion current budget deficit! Jerry Brown wants to punt a tax increase to help solve the budget gap to the taxpayers. But he needs a handful of Republicans to agree to put the tax increase on the ballot. Business groups and the Republicans want the pension issue included as part of the fix.
According to the WSJ article, Public-Pension Fight Surfaces in California, ”Several big unions argue that the time isn’t right for a pension overhaul, including some that helped block efforts along those lines by former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. They worry that union members would have to pay significantly higher costs to fund their pensions, among other things.”
Imagine that, they worry that they would have to pay significantly higher costs to fund their pensions!
If there is any solace in this, it’s that the man responsible for public union collective bargaining in the state must now deal with the mess he created! Public employee unions, public monopolies, even FDR would be shocked!
Democracy and Openness Return to the House
Posted by Tom in Budgets, Centrally Managed Economy, Congress, Fiscal Policy, Law, Morality & Religion in the Public Square, National Character, Obama Budget & State of the Nation, Taxation on February 18, 2011
Kim Strassel applauds the heated open debates raging in the House of Representatives in today’s WSJ, Congress Finally Earns Its Pay. The scene was the continuing resolution for funding the balance of 2011, and the subject was John Boehner’s bill, now up for debate. 600 amendments were thrown at it.
“Chaos,” “a headache,” “turmoil,” “craziness,” “confused,” “wild,” “uncontrolled” are just a few of the words the Washington press corps has used to describe the ensuing late-night debates. There’s a far better word for what happened: democracy. It has been eons since the nation’s elected representatives have had to study harder, debate with such earnestness, or commit themselves so publicly. Yes, it is messy. Yes, it is unpredictable. But as this Presidents Day approaches, it’s a fabulous thing to behold.”
Exercising their foremost and ancient power, descended from England, the power of the purse our elected representatives did their jobs. “There were amendments to prohibit funds for the mortgage-modification program (Darrell Issa, R., Calif.), for wasteful broadband grants (Jim Matheson, D., Utah), for further TSA full-body scanning machines (Rush Holt, D., N.J.), for the salaries of State Department envoys tasked with shutting Guantanamo Bay (Tim Huelskamp, R., Kan.). And amendments designed to cut off funding for IRS agents enforcing ObamaCare.”
Contrast this with the Pelosi-Reid-Obama RAILROAD. Bills drafted in back rooms by power brokers, put to a vote without reading or debate. Democrats offered amendments last night, something Republicans could not do under Pelosi. One such Democrat amendment was to continue funding road signs bragging about the stimulus. Republicans disagreed with one another, unheard of among Democrats in Pelosi’s House. Boehner even lost a major defense project for his own district, the second engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Again, unheard of under Pelosi.
I received an email this afternoon announcing the results of a heated two hour part of that debate on an issue of concern to me, my taxpayer dollars going to fund abortions indirectly by grants to Planned Parenthood. “And today, the U.S. House of Representatives — by an
overwhelming majority vote of 240 to 185 — voted to DEFUND PLANNED PARENTHOOD!” Not exactly what you think of when you list the proper functions of government!
One might have asked long ago, why do our hard earned dollars pay for a lot of non-governmental functions. Things like NPR, ACORN and the National Endowment for the Arts. The point is that now, at least, our representatives are asking and as Kim Strassel concludes, “Long may that last.”
Obamacare’s Medicaid Crutch Is Bankrupting the States
Posted by Tom in Budgets, Centrally Managed Economy, Constitution, Entitlements, Federalism, Fiscal Policy, National Character, State Finances, Welfare on February 4, 2011
To buttress the shaky fiscal credentials of Obamacare Congress increased the eligibility for Medicaid to 133% of the poverty line adding 25% to the rolls; it sent the bill for this to the states. So those new Medicaid entitlees would not have their healthcare welfare charged against Obamacare. George Melloan exposes this neat little trick in his op-ed in today’s WSJ, The States Can’t Afford Obamacare.
States unlike the federal government are required to balance their budgets. One of the largest cost items in those budgets is Medicaid. This is a federal welfare program which requires state administration and state budgetary contribution. The fed dictates the program which like all fed handouts is rife with fraud and abuse.
In the recent Florida Obamacare case, the 26 states argued that Medicaid was unconstitutional as a coercive control over state budgets; in other words a violation of federalism which forces states to implement and pay for federal welfare. Judge Vinson did not buy the argument stating that the states could merely refuse to implement Medicaid. In short the federal government was not forcing the states to implement Medicaid, AT LEAST NOT IN THE LEGAL SENSE OF THE TERM.
And therein lies the rub! If a state withdraws from Medicaid, the federal government continues to tax its residents. Those taxes that would have otherwise gone in part to pay the state’s Medicaid bill will now go to pay the Medicaid bills for other states. In this hard economic sense, Medicaid is an unfunded federal mandate. This is economic compulsion at its best. And this is undoubtedly a breakdown of our federal system.
To review the bidding, the Obama-Reid-Pelosi triumvirate enacted a new, intrusive and unsustainable federal welfare program, Obamacare, by increasing the size of an existant unsustainable federal welfare program, Medicaid. In the process the three exploded the states budget obligations, exacerbating the states budget deficits. This case of robbing Peter to pay Paul has driven both closer to bankruptcy.
It is good to keep in mind that these federal farces, these piles of money, promote overuse, fraud and abuse. There is little justification for this welfare largess, other than to addict voters to their source, in this case the liberal, leftist Democrats.
Kudos For New York’s Cuomo
Posted by Tom in Budgets, California, Democrats, Fiscal Policy, Nevada, State Finances on February 3, 2011
Applaud conservative, fiscally responsible ideas in public office whenever and wherever you find them; and today’s kudos go to Democratic Mario Cuomo, the governor of New York. According to today’s WSJ editorial, he has exposed the fraud of “baseline budgeting.” (See: Cuomo’s Lesson for House Republicans.)
“The budget that Mr. Cuomo unveiled this week closes a gaping deficit with major budget reductions, calling for spending cuts in state hiring, education, health care, aid to universities and payments to cities. The plan would balance the Empire State’s $135 billion budget without a dime of new taxes or borrowing. Remarkably, if his budget passed, the state would spend $3.5 billion less than it did last year.”
“These cuts are impressive on their own, but Mr. Cuomo’s real conceptual breakthrough is to expose the rigged-game of “baseline budgeting.” This is a gambit by which spending increases automatically each year even before a Governor submits his budget. The “baseline” grows each year due to spending formulas that legislatures build into the law even before they take a single vote.”
Guess what? The United States, the State of California, the State of Nevada and many others use baseline budgeting! That’s right. The budgets are in deficit before they are submitted. Most if not all of those less than adequate, so-called public services have automatic ups built into their continuation.
Courageous political leaders proposing a zero-based look at these bureaucracies are accused by the left leaning media of “cutting” education, healthcare, tree-hugging or whatever. But with government growth at most levels out of control, cut they must.
As the Journal editorial points out, the Republicans should sieze the opportunity in Congress to start the budgetary reform. And soon.