South Dakotans

Are beauracrats capable of cutting spending?

l3wis January 11, 2009 2Comments

Are we all just a bunch of helpless Prairie Dogs to our state legislators. Prove them wrong.

I’m starting to wonder if politicians are capable of making cuts instead of continuing tax and fee increases?

Increases in taxes and fees that would affect almost all South Dakotans are under consideration, as are cuts to a variety of services and programs.

The $3.67 billion budget Gov. Mike Rounds proposed in December would have spent down reserves and raised user fees that in some instances haven’t been touched since the 1980s.

The rest of us have been making cuts in our personal budgets, I have been for at least for the past 12 months, I would expect the same out of our government.

And the finger-pointing has already started.

Senate Minority Leader Scott Heidepriem of Sioux Falls says the Senate already works cooperatively.

“The problem the last two years was the House,” which ceded its power to Rounds, he said. “Whether they do that again remains to be seen.”

The Republicans just don’t get it.

The problem with poking into every crevice and cranny in government is there is little to be gained, Rave said. Almost 75 percent of the budget is devoted to health, human and social services – such as Medicaid – to schools and local governments or corrections. These are areas where the state has constitutional obligations and where great amounts of federal funding are leveraged by state matching money.

What House Republican leader Tim Rave does not understand is that 25% of a $3.67 Billion dollar budget is a lot of f’ing money. Start cutting chief.

And Charlie Brown steps up to the plate, other SD Republicans need to follow his example (and I’m not just saying this because Dusty likes my site – wink, wink).

Dusty Johnson, Public Utilities Commission Chairman, said the PUC has reduced costs by doing all regulatory filings online.

This next item could be a good move in the right direction for citizens;

Secretary of State Chris Nelson has also heard rumors legislators might be asked to revise the initiative process by which citizens can get issues such as abortion, video lottery and smoking bans on the ballot,

Our legislators don’t represent us anymore. Mark my words, IMO, a total smoking ban will fail. My guess is that it will only go in effect for restaurants, and the powerful video lottery lobby will twist legislators balls into voting against banning them. It is time for citizens to stand up and say “We will decide what is best for us, because you are wasting our f’ing time.”

And let’s finish with this piece of fluff

“I think there will be some key votes in the first couple of weeks,” Heidepriem says. “I can’t predict now what they will be. But there will be clear indications whether people will lay down partisan markers or will work together.”

And once again, a politician has given himself an out. Go figure.