Christmas For Bureaucrats

  So, as another legislative session in Dover comes to a close, we are once again afforded a front row seat to how not to govern.   So far we have been give legislation to decriminalize the possession of marijuana, to give driving privilege cards to illegal immigrants, to allow parents to opt-out of testing their children, (which will be vetoed), and any number of bills that deal with, what most would consider social issues.

Why is it that the Democrats, you know the party in charge here in Delaware, keep driving social issues, even as Republicans continually get blamed for keeping social issues at the forefront of the political discussion?

And why are we seeing all of this smoke and mirrors about social issues, when the state is facing a multi-million dollar deficit? Well? Because the state is facing a multi-million dollar deficit, that’s why.

But time is running out, soon we will witness the long-held tradition in Delaware, of the last night of the legislative session, where the magic money usually materializes. But since we are talking about close to $40,000,000.00, (That is a lot of zeros, huh?), they may find it hard to do without real cuts. Not much chance of that considering the Democrats have shown no inclination to do so, and Republicans just don’t have the numbers.

I also just learned that the proposed DMV fee increases were defeated tonight. Projections put the revenue these increases would have generated around $24 million. So, where will this $40 million come from? (On a side note, I have a bet with a friend, that these DMV increases will come back late in the session on Tuesday night, the last night of the session, the Republicans will claim that they have garnered some sort of spending cut concessions and will vote for the increases. Thus making them look tough, and allowing the increases to go through.)

We need to stop looking strictly at how to raise revenue, and accept the fact that we must cut spending.

Back in April, Senate Minority Leader Gary Simpson (R, Milford), called on state cabinet secretaries to find 5% cuts in each of their agencies. So far they have made no reply. Anyone shocked? In fact,  Gov. Markell’s budget chief, Ann Visalli, director of the Delaware Office of Management and Budget, was quoted in the News Journal as having said “if lawmakers want budget cuts, they should propose areas to reduce spending. Five percent reductions aren’t possible without layoffs.”

And you know what? She is exactly right. When did the process get turned upside down? Why is it that in what is supposed to be a representative republic, we now allow the bureaucrats to put together their Christmas list, and call it a budget, and then the people we elect run around, like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to find enough money to pay for it?

   Well it is time for us to get back to the way it should be, and that means no Christmas for the bureaucrats. Instead of the people hired to take care of the day-to-day running of the government, to make sure the trains run on time one might say, deciding how much to spend, it is time for the legislators to take back control. After all, they do hold the purse strings.

Here is a crazy idea, if the legislature really wants the agencies to spend 5% less, then pass a budget with 5% less in it for every agency. This will force the secretaries to do their job within the budget set forth by the people’s representatives. They will be forced to prioritize their spending, instead of putting together their yearly wish list. Of course the instant cry will be they can only do this by laying off employees. First let me say that a few less government employees might not be the worse thing to happen, but I’ll bet, that if forced to operate within a given budget, rather than setting their own spending limits, these government wonks could find those spending cuts, or find another job.

This is not rocket science. The Delaware Legislators have, for far too long abdicated their legislative responsibilities. They allow agencies like DNREC to pass regulations that carry the weight of law, and they allow these same agencies to set the spending for the state. Both of which, are jobs they were elected to do. But hey, wouldn’t want them,  to have, to make the hard decisions, wouldn’t want them to look like the bad guys. Wouldn’t want them to actually be leaders.

I am a Republican, and I understand that in Delaware right now there is little chance of the Democrat controlled Legislature actually doing this, and the Republicans can’t, even if they would, and that is up for debate. So at some point we as Delawareans must send the message that we want our elected officials to do their job, by making the bureaucrats do theirs.

The Democrats have had control of this state for quite sometime, and it has led us to a $40 million deficit. (And please don’t anyone come here and tell me Delaware has a constitutionally mandated balance budget, because that is as big a lie as Santa Clause.) It is time to give the other side the ball, and if they drop it, then we elect new leaders, until we actually get leaders.