Why Can't Politicans See Spending Cuts as An Opportunity?: California Assembly Speaker Karen Bass Misses the Point of the California Budget Compromise
ByWhen the New York Times asked California Assembly Speaker Karen Bass about the recent California budget compromise, she said the following:
“I would characterize this budget as shared pain and shared sacrifice.”
There are a lot of things we don’t like about the budget compromise, but we think that the Speaker and the chorus of both Republicans and Democrats who are openly showing their remorse for the impact the cuts will have are missing the point.
California Politicians Like Assembly Speaker Karen Bass are Apologizing for Budget Cuts Instead of Seizing the Opportunity to Really Slash Spending
Many Americans are taking the opportunity during a time of “economic downturn” to cut back on spending and reduce their debt. There is no doubt that some sacrifice is involved, but more than a few people we’ve talked to have expressed enthusiasm at the idea that their personal budget cutting will result in less stress and more freedom from the shackles of debt. They understand that they will be stronger and better off by being responsible.
Bass should listen to her constituents who are involved in these efforts to rethink their personal finances. The interest group leaders and lobbyists Bass and her fellow members of the California Assembly and Senate are so fond of talking with can’t imagine a situation where spending less might be healthier than spending more, but the reality is that large budget cuts, in theory if not in the particulars of this compromise, are probably the best thing that Bass and her political cohorts have done for the state in their political careers.
Bass and company are whining about being forced to make cuts, but the better perspective is that the reduction of government spending will result in a state that suffers less from the perversive effect of state subsidization and social spending. As a result of cuts, people will be more free, the government will be economically stronger, and the necessity for tax increases will be reduced. California politicians should have seen the rejection of proposition 1A as a voter mandate to do real systematic and widespread slashing of the massive California government — a real opportunity to fix the state’s financial woes and free the state’s economy from growing government dependence.
The next time you hear a politician in your state publicly regret the need for budget cuts perhaps you’ll take the opportunity to dissent, as well. At some point, they might just get the message that empathy is not nearly as appreciated as a drive to seize the opportunity to fight government waste.
