EDMOND —
Cato Institute analyst Tad DeHaven, a former budget policy adviser to Sen. Tom Coburn, recently pointed out that state policymakers have become “dangerously reliant on federal money.” In a very real sense, state policymakers receive federal bailouts every year.
As the economist Herbert Stein famously observed: Something that can’t go on forever, won’t.
T.W. Shannon knows this. The next Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives announced last week that he’s conducting an interim study this fall “to examine contingency plans for scenarios in which state agencies lose federal funding due to potential federal budget cuts.” He is to be commended for his prudent leadership.
“The federal government is now borrowing $1 of every $2 it spends,” Rep. Shannon said. “Our national deficit reached $16 trillion this year. It is inevitable that states will experience drastic cuts at some future date. The spending level is not sustainable.”
According to the latest Comprehensive Annual Financial Report prepared by the Office of State Finance, Oklahoma’s total state spending is at an all-time high. This money comes from a variety of sources. Nearly half of it is from the federal government; most of the rest comes from state taxes and fees that are either appropriated by lawmakers or directed to various agencies by state law.
Total spending now exceeds $16 billion — that’s more than $500 per second — and it continues to increase every year.
Oklahoma’s dangerous reliance on federal money is nothing new. In 2004, economist Barry Poulson wrote: “Oklahoma citizens may be surprised to learn that they have become an actual ‘welfare state,’ more dependent on the federal government to finance spending than their own tax-generated funds.”
Again, this is not sustainable. America is bankrupt. As author and columnist Mark Steyn puts it, “the government of the United States is broker than any entity has ever been in the history of the planet.”
OCPA has recommended the formation of a legislative oversight committee designed specifically to review all state programs using federal funds.
“We have to be ready to self-sustain core services and deal with potential cuts,” Rep. Shannon says. “State agencies are addicted to federal spending. We need to tailor agency spending to ensure core government services remain unaffected.”
Core government services, by the way, are in the eye of the beholder. Oklahoma taxpayers should very much welcome a debate on what is and what is not a “core government service.”
Core services or not, Mr. DeHaven has a suggestion for state policymakers: “If you want to spend more money than Washington will give you, go out and tell your taxpayers that you want to increase their taxes to pay for it.”
That’s not likely, of course. Both Rep. Shannon and Gov. Mary Fallin have said they favor lower taxes, not higher taxes.
Fortunately, as Kansas showed us this year, tax cuts are possible. Kansas just enacted the largest tax cut in state history, and they’re not done yet. As the state’s budget director told me, “It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you’re willing to cut spending.”
BRANDON DUTCHER, an Edmond resident, is vice president for policy at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, a free-market think tank.
Opinion
Official says state is ‘addicted to federal spending’
- Opinion
-
-
Don’t leave Oklahoma!
May is graduation season. As I have done every year as lieutenant governor, I have given multiple commencement speeches. Advice flows freely during this time and it usually runs the gamut. What to do, what not to do, how to do ‘x’, be sure not to do ‘y.’ Too often commencement speakers speak in big generalities. So general, the message is frequently lost or forgotten.
-
Last-minute funding proposals not in state’s best interest
All indications point to this being the last week of this year’s legislative session. The Legislature will go home a week early. This is good news for Oklahomans as not only will there be cost savings but all Oklahomans should breathe a sigh of relief when the Legislature stops making new laws a week ahead of schedule.
As usual, the Legislature will take a number of important votes during the last week. Some will be forced due to attempts to introduce and pass far-reaching, new policies that should have been introduced much earlier in the year. -
BY THE NUMBERS: Oklahoma still needs to invest in its economy
After six months of stagnation, the Oklahoma economy finally appears to be expanding again albeit still weakly. Unfortunately, our leaders aren’t making the investments we need to give our economic prospects a boost.
Last week the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services reported that in April state General Revenue fund collections were 5.2 percent above the estimate and 14.7 percent higher than last year’s collections. Under normal circumstances, such a report would indicate that the Oklahoma economy was very strong. But this isn’t a normal circumstance, and April isn’t a normal month. -
Americans deserve the truth on Benghazi
Lately, the media has been consumed by the controversies surrounding the White House. Among these controversies is the horrific terrorist attack on the United States’ diplomatic compound in Benghazi that took place Sept. 11, 2012. As more people come forward with additional information regarding the attack on the consulate, many Americans, including myself, are still asking for the truth.
The Obama Administration and the State Department have been less than forthcoming with key information on Benghazi and recent information points toward a major cover-up. -
Seizure of AP phone records insult to independent press
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
-
HEY HINK: Some people just are not cut out for command
Recent headlines cause me to remember an incident that occurred on an army base some years ago. Warning here: I’m taking some liberties with names and details, but the basic outline of events is accurate.
A certain company commander, let’s call him Captain Duntz, had command of a motor pool on a large army base in the continental U.S. -
We’ve become our own worst enemies
The past couple months have been marked by a seeming unprecedented number of man-made tragedies, as distinct from those caused by violent outbursts of the natural world, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis.
You don’t want to dwell too long on the negative, but we do have to take notice of horrific human events and we owe it to ourselves to respond to them in some way. We don’t always agree on those responses, however, and that usually exacerbates the problem. -
Let’s reimburse higher ed for remediation costs
The good news: Oklahoma schools are teaching phonics. The bad news: It’s in college.
Students at Tulsa Community College, for example, can take a college English course called “Spelling and Phonics,” which “helps students master basic spelling literacy, principles of phonics and decoding skills.”
This sort of higher education brings to mind former Boston University president John Silber’s quip: “Higher than what?” -
AGAINST THE GRAIN: Department of Commerce highlights Main Street successes
The 24th annual Oklahoma Main Street Awards Banquet was at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum last week. Oklahoma Department of Commerce Secretary Dave Lopez addressed the gathering, and spoke of how the Commerce Department works with Main Street organizations throughout the state that are working to improve their downtown areas. Lopez pointed out that the partnership between his department and those local organizations has brought new life to those communities and that the attendees would see some of that revitalization in a video presentation. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin also addressed the gathering, and said the Main Street program has resulted in more than $1 billion in investments in the state and more than 1 million volunteer hours in its 24 years of operation.
-
OUR VIEW: Be Edmond needs your help
BMX star and local legend Mat Hoffman knows what’s it like to fall from great heights and find yourself at one of the worst low points in life. He also knows how to climb back up and tackle life’s problems head on.
- More Opinion Headlines
-
Don’t leave Oklahoma!
