Here is one reason why South Dakota should not accept the latest federal handout:
States should say, “thanks, but no thanks” to Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Barack Obama’s latest $26.1 billion bailout, and instead restore fiscal sanity to their bloated budgets. It’s time to cut spending, not to attempt to sustain the unsustainable.
The bailout includes $10 billion for public sector jobs, including teachers, which the states cannot afford. And $16.1 billion for Medicaid spending, which, again, the states cannot afford.
Making matters worse, federal “stimulus” has been distorting state budget processes, and forestalling the states’ day of reckoning. According to the Los Angeles Times, “Many states had already counted on the extra federal aid in their spending calculations”.
How irresponsible is that? States are in such a desperate situation that when they crafted their budgets this year, many of them included funds that had not even been appropriated yet by a Congress they have no control over. That’s like borrowing against future projected stock price appreciation.
It is worse than that. Here we learn what Thomas Jefferson said about passing our national debt onto future generations:
"The term of redemption must be moderate, and at any rate within the limits of [the government's] rightful powers. But what limits, it will be asked, does this prescribe to their powers? What is to hinder them from creating a perpetual debt? The laws of nature, I answer. The earth belongs to the living, not to the dead. The will and the power of man expire with his life, by nature's law." --Thomas Jefferson to John Wayles Eppes, 1813. ME 13:169
"We acknowledge that our children are born free; that that freedom is the gift of nature, and not of him who begot them; that though under our care during infancy, and therefore of necessity under a duly tempered authority, that care is confided to us to be exercised for the preservation and good of the child only; and his labors during youth are given as a retribution for the charges of infancy. As he was never the property of his father, so when adult he is sui juris, entitled himself to the use of his own limbs and the fruits of his own exertions: so far we are advanced, without mind enough, it seems, to take the whole step." --Thomas Jefferson to John Wayles Eppes, 1813. ME 13:357
"Then I say, the earth belongs to each of these generations during its course, fully and in its own right. The second generation receives it clear of the debts and incumbrances of the first, the third of the second, and so on. For if the first could charge it with a debt, then the earth would belong to the dead and not to the living generation. Then, no generation can contract debts greater than may be paid during the course of its own existence." --Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1789. ME 7:455, Papers 15:393
Here is Governor Rounds' position:
South Dakota may not be able to use more than half of the federal aid it’s due to get from a jobs bill passed Tuesday by Congress because of state rules on spending for schools, Gov. Mike Rounds said.
South Dakota can accept an extra $21 million in federal money for the Medicaid program that provides health care for poor people, Rounds said.
But it might not take an extra $26 million in education aid because acceptance of the money could trigger an increase in local school districts’ property taxes under the language of South Dakota’s school funding law, the governor said. The federal money also would boost public education spending for one year but provide no way to maintain that level of spending in future years, he said.
Rounds said South Dakota and other states will wait to see how the U.S. Department of Education writes rules for the program in a month or so. States need flexibility in using the school money, he said.
“It depends on how they write the rules as to whether we can accept the education money. We hope we can,” the Republican governor said.
John Thune does not agree with our RINO governor:
South Dakota’s two U.S. senators split their votes when the Senate approved the package last week. Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., was one of 61 senators to vote in favor of the package last week. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., joined those opposing it.
The money will help South Dakota, even though it is in better shape than some states, Johnson said.
“Fortunately, South Dakota is not experiencing the high levels of unemployment and budget shortfalls that other states are suffering but (the funding) will certainly benefit the 2011 budget,” he said.
Thune said he understands the short-term benefits but worries about raising taxes for the affected corporations and continuing to borrow money against the future.
“That does relieve some fiscal pressure on the state, but to me it allows a lot of these states to put off the hard decisions until down the road and they become increasingly addicted to federal money,” Thune said.
Thune said four Republican U.S. senators who previously served as governors – Mike Johanns of Nebraska, Jim Risch of Idaho, George Voinovich of Ohio and Kit Bond of Missouri – have urged other Republican senators not to support the additional spending.
“They said it’s the worst thing you can do for the states,” Thune said.
And here is Herseth Sandlin's and Noem's positions:
Herseth Sandlin and her staff have been talking to medical providers and others in South Dakota about the benefits of the money. The South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations and the hospitals, nursing homes and home health agencies it represents supported the aid package and urged Herseth Sandlin to vote for it. Additional funds are essential as states try to meet growing Medicaid needs in tight budget, association senior vice president Ken Senger said.
“Medicaid continues to grow as the economy struggles,” he said. “State support is more and more threatened. And your concern is that the state will back off on its support” without additional federal funding.”
Herseth Sandlin’s Republican opponent, state Rep. Kristi Noem, would not have supported the package approved Tuesday, campaign manager Josh Shields said.
“She would have opposed it,” Shields said in an e-mail. “It’s another bailout paid for by tax increases and re-labeling stimulus bill funding among a few other items. It also prohibits states from responsible budgeting.”
As a state legislator, Noem joined the majority in voting to use about $250 million in federal stimulus money to plug holes in three consecutive budgets. That allowed the state to avoid a number of previously discussed program and staff cuts.
Number one, the federal mony did not prevent program and stuff cuts, it allowed South Dakota's government to grow even more. So how should we view South Dakota Republicans who freely spend from Obama's out-of-control big government agenda? Are they the leaders that should be brought forward as candidates representing the GOP? Perhaps it is time to stop with the Ken and Barbie doll politics and get to the substance of the issues during the primaries.
From my understanding, and I may be wrong, money will be coming from the food stamp programs and going to support Unions.
Posted by: Patty Stricherz | August 12, 2010 at 12:17 PM