More Congressmen sign AFP No Climate Tax pledge: Americans For Prosperity-GA applauds Congressmen Lynn Westmoreland (3^rd) and Tom Price (6^th) for joining Congressman Phil Gingrey (11^th) as Georgia signers of the No Climate Tax pledge. More on climate tax..
 

AFP has more fun with YouTube – Speaker Pelosi shouted down by protestors who want to “drill here, drill now..”
 

Sign up now for our Defending the American Dream Summit in Washington, DC! Questions? Call AFP-GA Grassroots Coordinator Virginia Galloway at (404)736-1465

Kudos to GA Secretary of State Karen Handel, for her Transparency in Government Website! Check it out! Handel was one of our featured speakers at our AFP-Georgia Defending the American Dream Summit last May.

Georgia’s Income Deficit – Could This be a Good Thing?

For the 2009 budget year, which began in July, the state of Georgia is facing a $1.4 billion discrepancy between what was projected last winter during budget creation and what is now expected. Policy analysts are wringing their hands as though the sky were falling. But is it really? If appropriate action is taken, this deficit could be a good thing for Georgia, and more particularly, Georgia taxpayers.

Governor Perdue took a bold first step in the right direction, ordering Department heads to submit contingency budgets based on various levels (up to 10%) of funding cutbacks. The budgets would include a description of the service performance at each funding level. This is similar to a market forced zero-based budgeting plan, which the State Legislature was unwilling to pass when the economic outlook was rosy. The object of zero-based budgeting is to weed out unproductive and inefficient spending, and avoid duplication of services between agencies.

The Governor also called for a ban on non-essential travel. Need we explain that much of taxpayer funded travel is not only non-essential, but certainly not economical either? As Georgia families make tough choices about whether or not they can afford vacations at all this year, it’s irresponsible to expect them to pay for bureaucrats’ excessive trips that may or may not be work-related.

A hiring freeze is also on the table. Coupled with a removal of “dead wood” from Georgia government offices, a hiring freeze could change the culture and performance of state government. Maybe government officials are finally learning a lesson from the private sector, which often culls the non-productive to benefit the entire organization.

How could budget cuts hurt Georgia?

First, Georgians will suffer if they continue to supersize government spending during good times. The state rightfully set aside a rainy day fund, but then they also added to the size and cost of state government far above the rate of inflation and population growth. From 1980 to 2006, Georgia’s population grew by 71.4%, while state spending grew by 191.45%.

Georgia must also choose wisely which programs should be cut. Some policy analysts  pounced immediately on school choice funding as the obvious budget cut. But in a state known for the highest paid teachers in the Southeast, yet the lowest performing schools, this proposal is impractical. An educated workforce is an asset for a state to offer potential business relocations as well as current businesses. Successful businesses are vital to our long term prosperity. Most businesses are not focused on the former academic institutions of their employees, but on their overall job performance and skill set – can they read, write, calculate, analyze, research, etc.? One definition of insanity is to repeatedly do the same thing and still expect different results. We’ve tried- unsuccessfully- throwing more money at the public school system.  Let’s give school choice a chance to succeed.

Another area under discussion for cuts is the property tax relief. With so many Georgians stretched to financial breaking point, this is not the time to raise any tax, especially one tied to real estate.

Some left leaning organizations are calling for outright tax hikes – on the “rich,” on cigarettes, and on estates. The rich and their assets are more portable than most, so chances are good that you run them off to a state that will be kinder to their pocketbooks. Cigarettes – didn’t work for Maryland – just leads to black market deals and crossing state lines to make purchases. And the estate tax is another idea that would encourage wealth and business to flee the state in search of friendlier policy. These ideas may play well politically in some circles, but are not practical. As with any legislative idea, there are often unintended consequences. .

Like many crises, the Georgia budget shortfall is an issue that can strengthen our state if appropriate measures are taken. Please communicate with your State Senators and Representatives and help them make decisions that are good for Georgia’s long term prosperity.