It Ain't Fearmongering If It's True...

[babylonsister]

IT AIN'T FEARMONGERING IF IT'S TRUE.... Just today, the LA Times has a good report on the unprecedented pressure on state budgets right now -- pressure that will not be alleviated by the federal recovery plan because Sens. Collins & Co. believe state aid isn't stimulative enough. While state shortfalls will lead to painful cuts in practically every state, Nevada is poised to get hit much harder than most.

The Times report noted, for example, that Nevada is "facing the most serious shortfall," and lawmakers will have to cut a striking 38% from its state budget. The impact across the state will be both drastic and unavoidable, most notably in the state's public schools, which will soon face a 15% cut.

It wasn't surprising, then, that Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) criticized Senate "centrists" for cutting $40 billion in state aid from the stimulus package, noting that the aid, which appeared in the House version, was intended to stop states from "laying off cops and firefighters, money to help keep teachers going." Republican Sen. John Ensign of Nevada rejected Frank's comments, labeling the remarks "fearmongering." Indeed, Ensign seemed encouraged by the fact that state budgets, including his own, would have to be slashed, calling the budgets "bloated." He said, "What we should be doing is cutting back."

Got that? As the recession worsens, and government spending is needed to prevent more Americans from losing their jobs, a leading Republican senator whose own state is about to get pummeled, believes it's a good idea to "cut back."

more...

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_02/016803.php

[G_j]

1. Ensign lies...good soldier n/t

[DJ13]

2. a Republican senator whose own state is about to get pummeled

......will find he has few friends left in his home state afterwards.

In time this will be a self correcting matter.

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. Only problem is Senators have 6 year terms.

[babylonsister]

4. An ass is an ass. I hope his 'constituents' catch on to the game he's playing. nt

[MadMaddie]

12. Can a state recall it's Senator? Is it state by state?

[Oldtimeralso]

5. K & R #5 and off to the greatest. n/t

[truedelphi]

6. California's firefighters were in dire straits two years ago

Budget cuts then in place cause d the top fire marshall in San Diego to resign,as he said that the budget constraints made his job impossible.

And that was two years ago, long before this current crissi.

[Joe Fields]

7. If he is solely interested in balancing a budget, then yes. If he is talking

stimulus, then he is a fool and a poser. Barney Frank is absolutely right, and I'll go further: anyone who says they are standing on principle to oppose this package because they are against big government spending is a fucking liar AND anti-American.

[ColbertWatcher]

8. Disgraceful.

How can we make sure voters remember this in 2010?

[bertman]

9. "What we should be doing is cutting back."

Suggested FIRST CUT: Ensign's senate seat and bloated Federal salary.

What a dipshit.

[OneBlueSky]

10. it's not only state budgets . . . here in New York . . .

it's a given that state aid to local communities will be cut significantly this year, and drasticaly next year . . . that means, among other things, that county budgets are also being cut, which means less aid for local towns, villages, and school districts, putting all of them under even more budget stress . . .

at all levels, the only two solutions to budget crises are 1) cutting expenditures, and 2) increasing revenues . . . since revenues are already way down due to income and other taxes being collected, and since the main expenditures in government are personnel costs, look for drastic cuts in government services at all levels in the coming years as employees take early retirement or are just let go outright . . . and for local and school governments that rely on property taxes for most of their income, look for severe and continuous property tax increases across the board . . .

[DCKit]

11. But the state and local budgets ARE bloated - beyond belief.

Every state and locality I'm aware of took the healthy economy of the 90's for granted and increased their budgets as fast as tax revenues rose. From the rural counties and communities to the cities (everywhere I have family and have remained informed) lost all fiscal sanity and got incredibly greedy - yet I have no idea how they've been spending the windfall. It's like Republic spending on steroids and they just can't give it away fast enough. A lot of states and localities have balanced-buget laws and can't end the fiscal year in deficit, but nothing was keeping them from carrying a surplus forward... but they didn't, choosing to spend it instead.

I'll never agree with the Republicans. We all know the first spending they'd cut would be for social programs, public safety, education, health and childcare while leaving the waste untouched. But aggressive (and honest) accounting practices and public oversight of contracts would go a long way toward "cutting" the actual fat from these budgets. However, it's apparent who would be most impacted by these sorts of changes, and their bought-and-paid-for representatives aren't going to alllow them to suffer on our behalf.

[donheld]

13. It's Honestymongering

Ain't it awful!