Archive for Monday, July 6, 2009
Push comes to shove on reaction to budget cuts
July 6, 2009
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Topeka — There’s politics and there’s politics.
Using a football analogy, it’s like when the ball carrier, under pressure from the defense, is one step from running out of bounds.
The defender can either lighten up with a simple push, or dive into the runner with all his might.
In Kansas politics, it’s usually the push.
But last week, when Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, announced $160 million in cuts and revenue adjustments to balance the budget amid falling tax revenues, House Republican leaders laid into him and other Democrats, issuing a fiery news release. In fact, the release was sent out before Parkinson made his budget announcement.
House Majority Leader Ray Merrick, R-Stilwell, blasted Parkinson’s earlier decision to delay tax refunds because of revenue problems. “The governor’s response is not to make changes to the way the State operates on a day-to-day basis but to essentially steal money out of the pockets of Kansans,” Merrick said.
House Speaker Mike O’Neal, R-Hutchinson, blamed the budget woes on Democrats voting for too much spending.
“They will doubtless now use the latest shortfalls to continue their call for destructive tax increases on Kansas families and businesses that will only deepen the recession,” he said.
Democrats, who are vastly outnumbered by Republicans in the Legislature — 78-47 in the House and 31-9 in the Senate — were not amused.
The budget approved by the Legislature to conclude the 2009 session was adopted by a coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans who ran over O’Neal, Merrick and House Appropriations Chairman Kevin Yoder, R-Overland Park, who had pushed for deeper cuts.
Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka called the House GOP news release an example of “hack politics.”
He said the budget has been plagued by record falling revenues.
“While the House Republican leadership has repeatedly chosen the low road, and were unable to put together a bipartisan coalition to pass a budget during the 2009 regular or veto session, Governor Parkinson has chosen the higher road by taking a tough stance on our state’s financial hardships,” Hensley said.
House Democratic Leader Paul Davis, of Lawrence, was equally critical of the Republican launch.
“The economic condition of the state mirrors that of the entire country,” Davis said. “No budget proposals — including the budget alternative pushed by House Republican leadership — would have prevented the situation we face today. Governor Parkinson would still be forced to make allotments, but on programs and services that already endured crippling reductions.”
It remains to be seen whether the political exchanges will affect today’s meeting of the State Finance Council, when Parkinson will seek approval from legislative leaders for $700 million of certificates of indebtedness, which use funds from state account reserves as an inter-governmental financing tool to pay off bills in July.
Parkinson said he expects no problem, but in February, Republican legislative leaders forced then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to sign a budget-cutting bill, sought by GOP leaders, before they would agree to issuing $225 million in certificates.
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6 July 2009
at 6:16 a.m.
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frankfurter (Anonymous) says…
Did I seriously just read Hensley calling something “hack politics”? Is he serious? Does he realize under the entry of “hack politics” in the Kansas political dictionary, is a large picture of Anthony Hensley?
The State had a billion dollars in the bank just 3 years ago. Overspending is just a large of a culprit as decreasing revenue.
I will give Parkinson credit for making the tough decisions that moderate Republicans and Democrats did not want to make during the Session.
6 July 2009
at 6:52 a.m.
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KU_cynic (Anonymous) says…
As is patently clear from the lead sentences of this essay by Scott Rothschild (including the clumsy football analogy), this is not a news story but rather news analysis, aka an opinion piece. It should be labeled as such.
6 July 2009
at 7:26 a.m.
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scott3460 (Anonymous) says…
““The governor’s response is not to make changes to the way the State operates on a day-to-day basis but to essentially steal money out of the pockets of Kansans,” Merrick said.”
One would think that decades of republican tax cutting had changed the way the State operates. If there is so much to be left to change, what have the republican's been doing all these years leaving such obvious changes undone?
6 July 2009
at 8:21 a.m.
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Bob_Keeshan (Anonymous) says…
Well, this is just ridiculous:
–––––
House Speaker Mike O’Neal, R-Hutchinson, blamed the budget woes on Democrats voting for too much spending.
“They will doubtless now use the latest shortfalls to continue their call for destructive tax increases on Kansas families and businesses that will only deepen the recession,” he said.
–––—
Um, I think in order to “continue to call” it would be necessary for Democrats to be calling for tax increases to begin with.
Nice of the Journal World to print flat out lies. When O'Neal issues a news release claiming the Democrats are responsible for floods, pestilence, and sick babies I'm sure the Journal World will print it verbatim.
Just because some politician makes a ridiculous accusation doesn't mean the media is somehow obligated to give it coverage.
6 July 2009
at 10:37 a.m.
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Shardwurm (Anonymous) says…
As long as we have enough for National Healthcare and ensuring our teachers all make $150,000 a year who cares how much we have in the bank?
6 July 2009
at 2 p.m.
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avoice (Anonymous) says…
How many families, faced with a lay-off, furlough, or pay freeze combined with rising commodity and retail prices, have looked at their shrinking budget and decided that rather than cut out non-essentials, they're going to ask every able-bodied family member to bring in extra money, any way they can? For individuals, that would mean panhandling, robbing banks, whatever it takes, because there are no jobs out there to be had. The reality is that we are all cutting out things we used to enjoy as well as things we used to think were essential.
When we were all doing well, we added more and more things to the budget, but now we can no longer support those sports activities for the kids, date nights at the movies, dinners out, cell phones, etc., etc. We hope to add things back in if and when our budget increases. But now that we have less money and the cost of everything is going up, it looks like it will be a long time before we stop sliding backwards, much less start gaining any ground.
Shouldn't governments have to cut back, too? And keep cutting and cutting, just like our families are doing, because our budgets keep shrinking and the cost of everything keeps increasing. Many of the programs our tax dollars support have been added to or created during boom times. Just like the perks in our family budget, the perks in our state-sponsored programs have to be cut during lean times.
But state jobs and state programs are more important to keep than private sector jobs. So go ahead and raise our taxes so several thousand more of us can fall off into poverty and go on the dole, and then keep raising those taxes until the percentage of people getting some sort of hand-out is larger than the percentage of people still making enough money to contribute any taxes. If you want to definition of unsustainable, here it is!
6 July 2009
at 4:59 p.m.
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Mixolydian (Anonymous) says…
Reality_Check (Anonymous) says…
KU_cynic: OK, I'll bite…what opinion(s) did the reporter express in this piece?
I love the way the speaker blamed the Democrats when they are such a small minority. But I'm used to lies being spewed daily by Repugnicans (and sometimes Dems)
======================================
What a clever clever person you are! You took the word “Repugnant” and the word “Republican” and combined them into a new word to make a point.
That's what you did right? um hmm. Because if you did, that is so clever!
What a clever, witty person you are!
The Republicans are Repugnicans! Ha!
That is so so very funny.
I have never seen that done before to make a point, that clever melding of the two words.
6 July 2009
at 10:15 p.m.
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texburgh (Anonymous) says…
O'Neal and Merrick are representative of everything that stinks about politics.
O'Neal says the Democrats are to blame when the Republicans hold a 107 to 58 member majority in the Kansas Legislature (31-9 Senate & 76-48 House). How in the world could the Democrats be responsible for anything?
Republicans force through massive corporate tax cuts year after year. Republicans increase spending by moving tax collections from one fiscal year to another so they can spend more without raising taxes and while cutting corporate taxes. Republican state tax policy is to cut of funding to local units of government so they are forced to go repeatedly to residential property tax increases to save police and fire protection and continue road repairs.
Conservative Republican leadership in this state - O'Neal, Merrick, Yoder, and the like - are determined to trash this state. And the voters happily go along.
If we want to save our state and enact sane tax policy - it's time to elect new representatives and they need to be either Democrats or Republicans like Tom Sloan.
6 July 2009
at 10:16 p.m.
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dandelion (Anonymous) says…
Shardwurm (Anonymous) says…
As long as we have enough for National Healthcare and ensuring our teachers all make $150,000 a year who cares how much we have in the bank?
I think most teachers would be happy to get $50,000/year. Do you think that teachers are really paid much? My sister only makes $35,000/year after 5 years required for an education degree at KU. Fortunately our parents paid for her education, so she has no debt, but that's not true for a lot of her coworkers.
But, but the Democrats. What a fool! He fails to mention that the Republicans are continuing to give more tax cuts, even though they have already cut taxes for business over and over. Where are the jobs these tax cuts are suppose to bring? Why are these businesses laying off people with all these tax cuts? Where's the trickle down?
7 July 2009
at 8:14 a.m.
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biasedmedia (Anonymous) says…
Yet another Dem press release by their Minority Leader, Scott Rothschild. How come this story appears no where else in Kansas media but LJW? Crack reporters or loyal mouthpiece?
a) this news release came out after the numbers were released to the Legislature Tuesday; it had nothing to do with Parkinson's cuts announced on Thursday.
b) the “budget alternatively pushed by republican leadership” would have exactly prevented the needs for the Gov.'s cuts, which cut education another 2%, bringing the total to cut to what the House Appropriations cmt tried and failed in the full House. Davis is doublespeak.