GOPer’s Going Wobbly on Spending Restraint?

It seems the attack on Bill Brady’s budget suggestions are having some pay off.  One area Republican wanting to run for state rep., actually believes that the state living off of 90 percent of last year’s budget is a reckless idea.  24 year old Adam Brown is wobbly, reports the Decatur Herald:

“Brown said he disagrees with the spending plan proposed by state Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington, the presumptive Republican candidate for governor. Brady proposes a 10 percent across-the-board cut to all state agencies.

“I don’t think 10 percent across the board is going to be effective,” Brown said. “I think we’ve got to look through the budget line item by line item and determine where our priorities are.”

Here’s something Mr. Brown needs to know.  The spenders in Springfield are lying.  Yes, as an emergency measure across the board spending cuts are one way at tackling a budget problem.  While at the Illinois Policy Institute I said as much just a few years ago:

“Apply across-the-board spending cuts. While this approach is administratively simple, it has one major drawback. It treats good-performing and poorly-performing units of government the same. It would be better to make targeted cuts, based on unit effectiveness and importance.”

Everyone claims Illinois is in a crisis, that’s the justification for tax hikes.  Yet, when it comes to spending restraint, it suddenly becomes time to study the problem.  (In addition the Institute offered eight other methods of attacking various spending issues in the paper.)  Across the board cuts are legitimate emergency actions.  And if tax hikes are one way of closing an emergency shortfall then so should 10 percent across the board spending cuts?

But like the Institute, Brady’s pronouncements offer more than just across the board cuts. You can see for yourself at Illinois Statehouse News.  At the 3:17 mark Brady says, “We have to create a budget that is reconciled, deconstructed and reconstructed, meet our priorities while living within our means but also providing a surplus to pay off our bills and short term debt.”  He’s talking in shorthand of the various kinds of five r long-term solutions to reducing state spending without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Brady goes on to explain that families are having to break down their family budget and make priorities in tough economic circumstances.  This is nothing less than a call to systematically look at the budget and make priorities.  Just as the young Mr. Brown would like.

Granted, it’s legislativese, a language unfamiliar to even some who practice it.  But by no means is Brady simply calling for 10 percent across the board cuts.  He is saying that’s a better deal than tax hikes.  And that is something everyone should be agreement with.

Republicans don’t need to go wobbly on 10 percent across board cuts, they need to defend and explain why that’s a better solution that’s better than a tax hike.

Maybe the President is Simply a Masochist?

They’re ginning up immigration reform.  From the LA Times:

“Reporting from Washington – Despite steep odds, the White House has discussed prospects for reviving a major overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws, a commitment that President Obama has postponed once already.

Obama took up the issue privately with his staff Monday in a bid to advance a bill through Congress before lawmakers become too distracted by approaching midterm elections.

In the session, Obama and members of his Domestic Policy Council outlined ways to resuscitate the effort in a White House meeting with two senators — Democrat Charles E. Schumer of New York and Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — who have spent months trying to craft a bill.”

The world’s greatest asset is its people.  Our nation’s greatest asset are its people.  Call me a old fashion liberal in the 19th Century meaning of the term. I’m a free trader.  That means goods, services and labor.

I’m the one that likes to point out that both parties get it wrong on the issue. Republicans will trade the goods and services but want to block the free flow of labor.  Democrats want the labor to cross the borders but don’t want the goods and services.  All three goods, services and labor is how we all get more for less.  Especially, in a competitive world in which 300,000,000 Americans against 2,000,000,000 Chinese and another 1,000,000,000+ Indians.

But given the status of this country’s welfare state that can’t support what we have and given that health care reform will make things worse as currently configured, immigration reform will only make things worse on the policy front.

This administration has passed an unpopular stimulus, has spent a year dithering on health care reform and cap and tax.  You’d think by now their thick skulls would figure out they’ve attempted to take on more than they or Congress can handle.  It’s as if they are willfully punishing themselves.

I’m developing a new theory about the President. I think he’s some kind of political masochist.

University Presidents Cry Poverty to IL GA While Taking Golden Parachutes

The Senate Appropriations Committee is going to hold hearings today taking another whack at Bill Brady’s suggestion in the primary campaign that across the board cuts are a way of tackling 8 years of overspending leading to a budget gap of $13 billion this year.

Yesterday, the presidents of Southern Illinois University and the University of Illinois testified before the Appropriations Committee:

Committee members heard from university officials about how devastating 10 percent cuts would be to higher education, but took no action. They’re expected to continue going over other budget cuts Thursday morning.

State Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, introduced the bills but extended the cuts to only eight agencies that make up about half of state spending.

The committee’s work was seen by some as Democratic ploy to demonstrate the drastic effects of Brady’s proposal. Democrats denied any such purpose.

“We are not trying to put anybody on the hot seat,” said State Sen. John Sullivan, D-Rushville, the committee’s chairman. “Republicans have said they want 10 percent cuts across the board to services and we wanted to highlight today what the effect of cuts would be.”

Brady did not attend the committee, but said he hopes the cuts are taken seriously.

“We have a horrific problem,” he said. “

Sullivan made clear the cuts were not for show.

“There is no doubt in my mind that (these cuts) are definitely seriously being considered,” he said.

Leaders of two large universities appeared to be taking it seriously as well.

A 10 percent cut would cut $74 million out of the University of Illinois’ budget from last year and cut $23 million out at Southern Illinois University. Both schools’ presidents said the toll would be tremendous.

“It’s easy to erode the quality and access (of higher education). Iit’s not so easy to reconstruct it,” U of I President Stan Ikenberry said.

SIU President Glenn Poshard said an immediate 15 percent reduction in his university’s workforce would be necessary to accommodate the cuts.

Sounds ominous doesn’t it?  But don’t worry University Presidents in the state system will still be taken care of:

University of Illinois Springfield Chancellor Richard Ringeisen would make $273,500 annually as an adviser to the U of I president after his retirement this fall, under a proposal to be considered next week by the university board.

Under the agreement, Ringeisen would serve as consultant for long-range planning and special assistant to the president from Nov. 1 through 2011. His pay would be equal to his current salary as chancellor.

Ringeisen earlier this week announced he will step down as chancellor on Oct. 31. The U of I board of trustees will consider Ringeisen’s retirement and vote on the 14-month deal during its March 10 meeting.

Ringeisen’s new duties would include making recommendations for the Springfield campus’ development, aiding the transition to new leadership, and planning in development activities and other events to promote the Springfield campus.

Ringeisen would also be a consultant to the next U of I president (the university has yet to name a successor for former U of I President Joseph White).

Tom Hardy, University of Illinois spokesman, said this type of agreement is not unusual for senior administrators.

So, the University President retires and then gets a gig as a consultant at the same pay rate — which he’ll do from Florida with his grandkids — and another guy will be hired to run the University of Illinois at Springfield presumably for another quarter of million dollars.   But don’t worry,  this common practice. Please.

Some Budget Crisis.  With university presidents threatening 9% to 20% tuition hikes; threatening lay offs of 15% if they have to live with 90% of what they have this should be a non-starter.  It also proves these hearings are a sham.

And oh, since the MSM didn’t say so allow me to point out that Glenn Poshard was the Democrat nominee for governor in 1996.  If the shoe were on the other foot, you can bet that would be an issue.

Starbuck’s Thrust Into Open Carry Debate

Three cheers for Starbuck’s Coffee.  They’ve unwillingly been thrust into a debate about open carry of pistols in their coffee chain.  Here’s the story from Fox News:

The “open carry” movement, in which gun owners carry unconcealed handguns as they go about their everyday business, is loosely organized around the country but has been gaining traction in recent months. Gun-control advocates have been pushing to quash the movement, including by petitioning the Starbucks coffee chain to ban guns on its premises.

Businesses have the final say on their property. But the ones that don’t opt to ban guns—such as Starbucks—have become parade grounds of sorts for open-carry advocates.

Starbucks on Wednesday, while bemoaning being thrust into the debate, defended its long-standing policy of complying with state open-carry weapons laws, in part by stating that its baristas, or “partners,” could be harmed if the stores were to ban guns. The chain said that in the 43 states where open carry is legal, it has about 4,970 company-operated stores.

The company added: “The political, policy and legal debates around these issues belong in the legislatures and courts, not in our stores.”

This is a good example of a company not caving to political pressure one way or the other.  It’s a good example of them exercising their property rights, too.

Yesterday, hearings on concealed carry legislation got a bit testy over the issue of exemptions from the law.  Rich Miller has more.   There are also more than one person in the comments section that need to be educated on concealed carry, the nature of firearms and  their uses.  Very much worth a read.

IL Schools Cut Costs, Hike Bureaucrats Pay

In the post below I write that, “Educators will threaten to end all high school sports and extracurricular activities. Text books will be gone. The children will have no food as lunches and breakfasts must end. Regional superintendents might then be able to scrape by.”

I was being facetious.  Apparently, however, I’m not far off:

“The state’s school superintendents are cutting costs in a gruesome budget cycle, but they can take some consolation: Their own paychecks are growing comfortably.”

The average salary and benefits of Illinois’ top school executives grew 3.7 percent last year, about nine times faster than raises enjoyed by other wage earners in the Chicagometro area, according to state data. A record number of superintendents — 150 — earned $200,000 or more.

The earnings report comes as school districts from Amboy to Zion have threatened to trim teaching positions, close swimming pools or cancel lacrosse and band programs — all in an effort to balance budgets.

The new salary information, provided by the Illinois State Board of Education, shows that the average compensation of full-time superintendents grew from $145,000 during the 2007-08 school year to $151,000 in 2008-09.”

I know the best humor has a hint of truth to it but in this case I think the joke is on the taxpayer.

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