Hatch: “Utah is Going to Get By Fine” Without Stimulus Money

[babylonsister]

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2009/02/hatch_utah_is_going_to_get_by_fine_without_stimulus_money.php

Hatch: “Utah is Going to Get By Fine” Without Stimulus Money


Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) talked with Wolf Blitzer earlier today:

BLITZER: Should Utah accept the $1.5 billion or $2 billion or whatever is included in this stimulus package earmarked for Utah?

HATCH: Well, I kind of agree with the southern governors who are willing to say, he, we’d just as soon not have this money. But I don’t blame any state for accepting the money at this time. Utah is going to get by fine whether we get that money or not.

I was up at the state legislature. And they’re cutting programs to make us live within our budget constraints. That’s something the federal government doesn’t do. That’s something the Obama administration isn’t doing. it’s something that Bush could have done much better on.

Hatch is right, of course, that the federal government doesn’t cut spending amidst a recession. The federal government doesn’t do that because doing so would be contractionary and pro-cyclical, reducing aggregate demand at a time when it needs to be increased. State governments don’t have the option of deficit spending, so they have to cut back. But cutting back will deepen the recession. Which is why there’s this federal aid to state governments in the stimulus. Ideally there probably should have been more such aid. But Hatch seems to think there should have been less.

But even with the stimulus money coming down the pike, Utah is being forced to cut back on services in ways that will have real harms. For example, they’re eliminating 90 beds at the Utah State Hospital, where the state’s most severely mentally ill are housed. The right likes to talk about waste and bureaucrats, but I’m not sure I understand how letting dozens of severely mentally ill people wander around the state is going to lay the foundations for long-term growth. They’re looking at importing more nuclear waste. They’re reducing staff at state universities, because everyone knows that higher education is a waste of time and it’s “fine” to not invest in human capital. And those cuts aren’t going to be nearly enough to plug the hole in Utah’s budget. They’ll have to do more.

Meanwhile, as McClatchy points out, the increased joblessness associated with the recession will probably mean higher levels of crime across the country at the very time the budget shortfalls Hatch is downplaying are forcing cutbacks to police forces all around the nation.

[TlalocW]

1. Methinks that Hatch may be forgetting that

A lot of people upset with prop 8 are essentially boycotting his state.

TlalocW

[FiveGoodMen]

2. More for the rest of us.

Maybe Utah will get a clue and not re-elect this bozo.

[ThomWV]

3. Easy for Hatch to say, he's not the Governor who will actually have to reject the funds.

[spanone]

4. and what will hatch say when the not only take the money & spend it, but steal some at the same time

[WolverineDG]

5. He may want to speak to Sen. Bennett

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11749983

IIRC, the state lege in UT just had to make a lot of deep budget cuts, end services, etc. I'm sure they'll be thrilled to turn down the stimulus money.

dg

[LSparkle]

6. But the Mormons take such good care of their own ...

All the "poor people" of Utah have to do is CONVERT and they'll get
all sorts of charity ...

:sarcasm:

[kirby]

7. Here is what you are missing...

The right likes to talk about waste and bureaucrats, but I’m not sure I understand how letting dozens of severely mentally ill people wander around the state is going to lay the foundations for long-term growth.

These are Republican voters for the next election!

[Why Syzygy]

8. If Rick Perry turns it down...

He will regret it. Texas citizens are desperate! We're turning blue in more than one way.

[babylonsister]

9. He's already accepted it...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=180x56360