We had our legislative priorities luncheon yesterday. The Council, Schoolboard and senior staff attended in addition to Sen. Colgan and Del. Miller. We did cover that which is near and dear to my heart: the M&T and BPOL tax and Sen. Colgan offered a pretty good summary: “It’s a horrible tax. Aweful. However, the localities depend on the revenue and we can’t get rid of it until we come up with a way to help them replace that revenue.” I though that this was about right on. In his remarks, Sen. Colgan indicated that he could not, at this time, support the elimination of the BPOL and M&T tax. He also gave, in concert with Del. Miller, a good overview of the budget process and some ideas about what he thought that would look like. Del. Miller gave an interesting overview of the redistricting process and the difficulties there.
Did you know that, for the first time since 1974, the House of Representatives didn’t even offer a budget blueprint this year? That Congress fails some years to even pass a budget? That’s what the WaPo says in this interesting article. That just blows me away. Little wonder the Federal Gov’t is a train wreck! Maybe the Tea party has some of this right. I’m not wild about many of the main actors in the National Tea party – many just don’t seem like serious people. However, I don’t find the larger themes in their ideology – balanced budget, fiscal responsibility, etc – to be problematic. I do think that Mr. Paul and those in the first wave are going to have incredibly tough sledding in the near term. In order to make any progress at all they are going to have to negotiate to get some of their changes under way and the Tea Party “Elders” are not going to want to hear that stuff…..
Don’t know, just thinking out loud….for a local gov’t guy perspective, we spend 50% of our time on the budget and I just can’t imagine not coming up with one. It never occured to me as an option and I’m surprised and disappointed to find out that this type of shenanigans goes on over there.
November 10, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Thank you Senator Russell Long of Lousiana…may you rest in no peace knowing it was because of you, the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 has never been followed.
Long found a loophole in it as a way to get some of his pork barrel tax bills through that were being resisted – a procedure for reconcilation so he could protect them. Reconcilation allows for a budget to be passed increasing expenses (and the deficit), without a corresponding act to reduce spending.
Senator Robert Byrd, much to his credit and waving of his personal copy of the Constitution in hearings, tried to force Congress back to a balanced budget so that outlays and revenues did not increase deficit. Of course, it just managed to tighten on some things that later more loopholes were found for.
Personally, in all my years of running Federal budgets in the military, if I did not stay within 3% plus or minus, I had a lot of explaining to do, could be relieved of my job, had a career killing evaluation, and if found to be criminally negligent, could see the Big Hotel on th Kansas Plains.
Maybe Congress should have that type of standard to meet….oh how I live in a fantasy world!
November 12, 2010 at 7:24 am
The tea party people are serious people. I hardly doubt they just want to support the status quo like many of our elected “leaders”. They understand there is plenty of waste and overspending. Those are the people that are not serious about getting the Nation back on track. They are the ones who just give lip service to spending cuts.
November 12, 2010 at 8:13 am
Some really are serious. Unfortunately the not so serious ones cost the republicans the senate. I do understand that in any new movement you have to take ’em where you find ’em….
November 13, 2010 at 7:05 pm
Andy,
That is right, and for such a new “party” they have had pretty good success. They had more success in the House, and remember, had the GOP run better candidates in Nevada and Delaware they might have won the respective primaries.
I believe they won something like 32% of the races they ran. The Dems won 40% of their races. Not too bad imo.
The next two years will show if the tea “party” will have a lasting impact or become one of many flash in the pan political movements that are on the ash heap of politics.