BY RUSSELL TURNER
PRIORITIES AND WORN OUT TIRES
As the legislative session here in Oklahoma ends, we often hear lawmakers making excuses for how they spend the taxpayers’ money. Many of the current legislators claim to be fiscal conservatives, but some of the votes that they have cast the last few days makes me wonder if their definition of conservatism is the same one I believe in.
In the business world the smart businessmen are continually looking over the numbers to see if there is any way to make their companies more efficient. They will hire firms to do studies on market share, demographics, and do audits on the cash flow to see if money is being wasted. The cost to do this can be expensive, but the smart businessmen know that it can make the difference between surviving and going out of business. Here in Oklahoma the main state office that has the duty to root out fraud and poor spending habits is that of the State Auditor and Inspector. In my opinion it is not being fiscally conservative to cut the budget of the state auditor by 822,000 dollars, which is 19% of his yearly budget, while the House and the Senate have not decreased their budget one penny. Cutting the one department that can make government more accountable is not a good decision.
Too many times lawmakers come under attack by their constituents who demand that they support pet projects in their area that will benefit them; sadly, far too often once-fiscally conservative legislators will succumb to the pressure and support projects that will only benefit a small area of the state. During the last days of this legislative session there was a move to fund the American Indian Cultural Museum in Oklahoma City and the Pop Museum in Tulsa; while both museums may have good intentions, the big question is should we have funded them?
In the case of the American Indian Cultural Museum the state has already dumped, by some estimates, over 90 million dollars in this ill-conceived project, now the move has sweetened the pot with even more taxpayer money. Some of the supporters will make all kinds of excuses and claims that it will be good for the state. We need to cut through all of the BS; the supporters want to issue more state government debt that the taxpayer will eventually have to pay. If the state was flush with money and had huge surpluses, that might be one thing, but that is not the case. The goal of the legislature should be to spend our tax dollars in a way that will benefit as many of the people of Oklahoma as possible. Will the people in Poteau our Boise City benefit from spending money on a museum in Oklahoma City or Tulsa? In my opinion if any government agency has more money than they need, return it to the citizens in the form of a tax cut and they will do a far better job in the private sector to grow our economy.
Cutting the budget to the auditor is the equivalent of having a car you use everyday repainted and leaving worn out tires on your car that will blow out at any minute. Fiscal Conservatism is not only about spending, it is also knowing how to set priorities.
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