The False Choice Offered by the GOP
There was a time when doctors treated virtually any ailment by bleeding a patient. Not only did this fail to solve the problem, it often just made things worse. So why would I mention this? Spend a few minutes watching CNN or any other news media outlet and you might understand why.
While the economy continues to crater, many members of the GOP continue to insist that tax cuts will solve our problems. Yup, again. The problem is this: it’s been done and it didn’t work. In fact, quite the opposite appears to be true: when Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan signed off on raising taxes, the economy recovered and we saw the strong economies of the late 80s and late 90s. When we cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans, it caused the current mess.
Now, I think we need to be careful how we spend money and think that a lot of the congressional Democrats are frankly off their gords too — yes, Nancy Pelosi I’m looking at you — wanting to spend money on a lot of frivolous or overly ideological items.
We need to do two things: pump money into the sectors of the economy where it will spark activity and find a way to restrain long-term spending.
First off, money needs to go to people who spend it. And a lot of that money needs to come in the form of jobs — because people will curtail their spending if they think they’re going to lose their job, or worse, if they don’t have one. Happily (well, actually, unhappily) America’s infrastructure is a neglected mess. As President Obama has suggested, spending money on infrastructure is a win-win, because it fixes a clear and obvious problem and puts a lot of average people to work, who in turn spend money, which puts other people to work, and so on.
It’s not rocket science, but the fact that so many people in the GOP seem to be stuck in the past, clinging to outdated and discredited theory largely because they have nothing else to offer. Worse, it seems like a lot of people in the GOP are more interested in helping out a tiny handful of wealthy people (many of whom have contributed to their campaigns) rather than the average person.
Posted in Politics and PA
Welcome to the debate over fiscal responsibility. Since you have misstated my position on open space, which I support, I am taking this opportunity to attach my letter to the DLN Below.
Controller, Val DiGiorgio, on open-space remarks
By Val DiGiorgio, Guest Columnist
Recently, the Daily Local News printed an editorial about the county’s long-standing, bipartisan open-space plan. As part of the column, some of my recent comments, on how to conserve taxpayer dollars in a recession, were taken out of context.
Both as a private citizen active in numerous community organizations and as the county controller, I have supported the county’s open space program. In addition, both as a private citizen and as county controller, I have looked for ways to save taxpayers’ money — especially in this recession.
The question for serious public officials and citizens concerned about continuing our county’s high quality of life is: how do we balance our plans and needs with shrinking tax dollars?
As controller, it is my daily mission to protect and fight for Chester County taxpayers. During the budget hearings last year, I presented a comprehensive plan, listing a menu of options to the commissioners to avoid raising taxes in this time of economic crisis. Included among several options was my request to consider deferring a portion of the open-space program in calendar year 2009 only. My hope in presenting a menu of options to the commissioners was to spark an honest and open debate over the budget and to find cost savings in county government to minimize tax increases in a time when taxpayers are losing their jobs and homes.
I also hoped to increase taxpayer awareness on how much our government programs are costing our taxpayers. Open space, while important and worthy, is no exception. As controller, I have attempted to determine how much our $20 million per year commitment to this program has cost us in terms of debt service. For example, at current interest rates, each year of this program costs taxpayers up to an additional $1 million per year in additional interest on our bonds, even with our county’s top-of-the-line AAA bond rating. Taxpayers need to know what this initiative, and other programs, cost them each year.
During my many years of government service, I have rarely, if ever, seen a program that someone did not think was beyond examination. Unfortunately, leaders who suggest that we should not spend more than we can afford — in other words, that government must live within the means of the taxpayer — are unfairly characterized as mean-spirited and short-sighted. Every program is seen as vital to someone; yet, all need to be not only accountable, but also seen in the balance of what taxpayers can afford.
In these troubling economic times, every program (even one as worthy as open space) must be evaluated, examined and reviewed — every program. This is why my testimony and the Daily Local News’ editorial could be very beneficial, if it leads to a thoughtful, reasonable discussion without personal attacks.
I remain committed to the value of a sound open-space program. In addition, I will not shirk from duty as controller to be the fiscal watchdog for the county and, in the process, make our government more open, efficient and accountable. And, yes, I and my staff will continue to fight for taxpayers every day.
In my journalism days, this was what we called “backpeddling.” The bottom line is this: many in the Chester County GOP have given little more than lip service to open space, a number have openly fought Landscapes, and when a true Open Space advocate like Sandy Moser stepped up to run, they did all they could to keep her from winning.
Again, though, this piece, reprinted from the Daily Local News, when they called Mr. DiGiorgio on his seemingly waivering position on open space preservation, fails to address the fiscal arguments for continuing to support open space — and to be frank, renders a great deal of this argument into the category of “me thinks he doth protest too much.”
If Mr. DiGiorgio were a true fiscal watchdog, as he portends, then he would be worried about the total tax burden on the county’s taxpayers, not just what he can be blamed for. I, and my colleagues on the Democratic ticket, are quite focused on the total tax burden and the long-term costs for the county’s taxpayers, not just what might get us through the next election cycle, which is what seemingly has guided so many fiscal decisions in recent years.
I do welcome Mr. DiGiorgio’s decision to open up a dialogue, one that will allow the county’s voters to see what sort of choices they face this November.
I just hope DiGiorgio didn’t attend Chester County Treasurer Alan Randzin’s Republican school of accounting. That’s the school where you report $20,000 as $2 million and cost your master $120,000 in fines (third largest for a sitting Congressman). Sure would be nice if the Reps could put up candidates that are actually competent to manage our finances.