Local media continue their excitement regarding the "elder statesmen" selected by Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton to endorse his call for higher taxes on "the rich."
As these eminences work to develop a "third way" approach to end the budget stalemate, which has produced a partial state government shutdown, allow this blog to engage in some truly unique "third way" thinking.
Thus far, the Gov.'s negotiating approach has been to try to get the Republicans in the legislature to agree to a higher budget figure (he's at $36 billion, they are at $34 billion) by raising taxes, then he plans to sprinkle this extra revenue over his favorite budget items.
What if we turned this logic on its head. Why not agree to outcomes from government efforts and then allocate available resources to match these priorities? Is that not the essence of budgeting?
We need to find an alternative (using my Thelma and Louise analogy) to driving over the cliff or braking with the hope of stopping short of the edge. Can we find a way to change direction?
Early in this session, we had some talk about "zero-based budgeting", but in the end we went back to the old "base line" approach. Of course, every government program has its constituency, which is why even the most outdated and inefficient programs can usually escape the budget cutter's axe. The "third way", "balanced" approach of more taxes and some modest trimming of higher spending expectations will accomplish nothing but to solidify the status quo and postpone the inevitable day of reckoning.
[Next Post: the Third Way]
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