By J. Randolph Evans
On Thursday, June 16, 2011, Congressman Anthony Weiner announced his resignation from the United States House. Headline writers, late night comedians and cable news anchors were greatly disappointed. Their ticket to double-meaning words and phrases and tawdry humor has come to an end. Oddly, he finally did something that both Democrats and Republicans agreed with.
Other than Congressman Weiner’s resignation, Democrats and Republicans cannot agree on much even though the next elections are well over one year away. Unfortunately, the next financial debt crisis is not. The Obama Administration predicts that the federal government will reach its debt limit – the Congressionally imposed limit on how much the federal government can borrow – on August 2, 2011.
Democrats and Republicans insist that a “default” – running out of
borrowed money to pay interest on borrowed money – would be
catastrophic. Yet, neither Democrats nor Republicans appear to be
acting like the end of the world (financially speaking) looms
immediately on the horizon.
Voters have to be thinking, “What planet are these folks from?” –
sending “tweets” of underwear and running around like Chicken Little,
screaming “The sky is falling,” but doing nothing about it.
Well, the bad news is that many of them really do not have a clue. It
is why control of the Congress swings back and forth like a yo-yo.
Fortunately for Georgia voters, the political lunacy contagion appears
limited to Washington, D.C. Back here in Georgia, government leaders
plod along (without headlines) tackling some of the most challenging
issues in history. And, while they do not agree on everything,
Republicans and Democrats remain willing to sit in the same room, reach
agreement where they can, respectfully disagree when they cannot, and
move forward with solutions.
Consider this. When the 2011 Georgia General Assembly convened,
Governor Nathan Deal, Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle, Speaker David Ralston, and legislative leaders from both parties faced an
approximately $1.4 billion budget gap. Unlike the federal government,
which can just borrow more money, Georgia’s Constitution mandates that elected leaders actually balance Georgia’s budget – EVERY YEAR. 2011, with all its challenges, was no different.
The options were limited. In the midst of a lingering recession with
revenue shortfalls, there were only four options – cut spending, raise
taxes, do both, or do nothing. Of course, higher taxes or default were
the worst things for a struggling economy.
What did Georgia’s elected officials do? They balanced Georgia’s budget
without raising taxes AND without a single tweet of anyone without a
shirt.
Did anyone really notice? Georgia leaders downsized government by
permanently eliminating 14,000 state jobs WITH NO TAX INCREASES. The state budget still fully funds Georgia’s K-12 public schools including
enrollment growth, school construction, and buses. The budget includes
funds for water and reservoir development. And, includes funds for
moving Georgia into the 21st century with new technology.
As the President and the Congress prove every day, balancing the budget is no small thing. Yet, in a bipartisan way, Georgia’s elected leaders did that and more. They saved HOPE.
When the General Assembly convened, there was a $300 million shortfall in lottery-funded educational programs. Under the federal model of
legislative inaction until disaster, Georgia leaders would have waited
until the eve of an actual inability to pay in July 2012 and then rammed
through some bloated program that would have fundamentally changed
direction under the guise of crisis management in a Special Session of
the Georgia legislature. Georgia’s elected leaders did NOT do this.
They fixed it.
There was no finger pointing, no lines in the sand or posturing for the
next election. Instead, Georgia’s elected leaders came together and
saved HOPE. The Enduring HOPE legislation assures that students will
continue to enjoy (that which students from other states cannot) access
to higher education with the assistance of a generous HOPE Scholarship
AND a Georgia Pre-K program to get them started. For anyone who thinks that Georgia’s HOPE scholarship is not good enough, need only look to every other state that does not offer statewide scholarship assistance.
But, the accomplishments of Georgia’s elected leaders do not stop with
balancing the budget and saving HOPE. Governor Deal and the 2011
General Assembly tackled the tough issues of immigration reform,
insurance over state lines, and human trafficking. They also started
the process for moving forward on criminal sentencing reform and
healthcare compacts (so that states can work together to solve
healthcare rather than the federal government).
Thankfully, all of this was done with Speaker Ralston’s shirt on (no
offense, Mr. Speaker), but his sleeves rolled up. It was done without a
single tweet by Governor Deal of anything where he was not fully
dressed. Republicans and Democrats proved they would work together
where they could and respectfully disagree where they could not.
Georgians should be proud.