For anyone interested in the state of Georgia’s economy, listen to this interview with Jack Hill (R-4), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and you will get the best spin available. According to Jack there is not going to be any problem making up the budget shortfall for the current fiscal year. In a recent interview with the Director of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, Alan Essig said the budget deficit was definitely going to be a tough problem and that it might be as high as $2.5 billion, but almost certainly $2 billion.
Not so, according to Jack Hill. He predicted a deficit of only $1.5 billion, give or take a few hundred million. What got me during the interview was not the size of the anticipated deficit, but Jack’s rather cavalier attitude toward the problem. It was like, what problem? What economic recession? What depression? Everything is rosy!
Or maybe it was more like, well, all you have to do to fix this one is cut spending, cut spending, cut spending. Yep, that’s right. Cut education! Cut health care for the poor and for children and the elderly?
BTW, a day or so later I saw Sen. Tommie Williams and asked him about Jack’s budget deficit estimate. His answer confirmed my opinion that Jack did not have a clue.
The interview went into the ditch when I suggested to Jack that he (or someone up there in the clouds) ought to try to find out if the state could and should raise more revenue by closing all the tax exemptions (sales tax, property tax, income tax, you name it, there are a lot of exemptions) that the legislature had created over the last 20 years, particularly those in recent years during the Perdue Administration. You see the problem is that one of the favorite pasttimes of the legislature is passing all this special legislation that lets this company or that company get away with not paying taxes on something. That might not be so bad if the legislature had the good sense to keep up with how much these little perks for certain businesses cost the taxpayers. You see, every dollar they don’t have to pay, you and I have to make up every year in the budget. (The big one they passed last year gave everyone up to a $7,500 tax credit (not a deduction) for contributions to scholarship funds of private schools. Now who, other than rich people are going to donate $7,500 to a scholarship fund? Well, when they do, you and I make up the difference, dollar for dollar because this is a tax credit, not a mere deduction.)
Jack literally bragged about the efforts of the Republican Party to do “value” assessments on every department and agency in the budget to make a determination as to whether or not the appropriation is essential. When I suggested that the legislature should find out how much the tax exemptions cost us in lost revenue, his response was something like: “Yes, we could do that?”
Let me interpret what Jack meant: “It will be a cold day in hell when we take a hard look at tax loopholes because they are there to help the people that contribute to our campaigns, so go ahead and hold your breath.” I was offended by his condescension. I am sure he was offended by my lecture on the purpose of government. We’re even Jack.
Jack accused me of “wanting to raise taxes,” just like Alan Essig. I don’t really want to raise taxes, but Jack’s problem is he wouldn’t raise taxes for any reason, under any circumstance. That is just as irresponsible as wasting money. In case you don’t realize it yet, it is hypocritical of the Republican Party to go around campaigning on education reform and quality education and cutting the education budget. Sure, they can say, we cut it less than all the rest of the government, but that is a deceit intended to placate the ignorant. Cutting education 2, 3, 4 or more years in a row affects a whole generation of kids. We will pay for the cheap attitude of the Republican Party and it will be a price far higher than the price of adequately funding education, even if it meant raising taxes.
Slash and burn begins next week, January 12th. For Republicans who love less government more than Jesus (You know, the guy that said sell everything and give it to the poor.), it may be a pep rally with a bonfire, but for the Georgia of the future it is going to a blood sacrifice.
Senator Jack Hill, Chairman Senate Appropriations [34:07m]:
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