Your Opinion: Current cuts only a patch

Recently, there has been discussion on cutting the 4-H budget, and many do not wish to have this happen. You can call and protest, for that action is protected by the Constitution and your First Amendment right. It is also your duty as a citizen to be informed on your decisions.

The real thing you should be doing is educating yourself on why these cuts are occurring. The original projected 2009 budget was $20.4 billion. The actual revenue for 2009 was $16.8 billion, which is a difference of $3.6 billion or 17.6 percent. The great state of Georgia has a balanced budget law, unlike the federal government, which is spending money several years into the future right now. A synopsis of the law is that the state cannot spend more in a fiscal year than they receive in the same fiscal year in revenue. So how does the state receive revenue? Basically, taxes, licenses, registrations, fines, receipts from some public parks and federal grants are the main sources.

There are only two areas to which we can make changes to reverse the state’s current status. First area is to cut spending. To do this, “We the People” need to fully understand what the state is paying for, then determine what is essential and what is non-essential, and what could be contracted out to private business, taking government completely out of the mix. A good example of this on local levels has been trash removal.

Lastly, what things should the state just stop administering? Right now our state representatives are discussing these various things. The only problem I see is they are only looking at it as a patch, when they should be looking at fixing things. What I am getting at is they are still cutting things close and most likely will have to return again in the near future to cut some more. Case in point, this is not the first time in several months they had to do this. I believe we should overshoot and get it right the first time. When you pull a tooth, do you pull it out quickly or do you pull slowly, with an increasing pressure, until it hurts, then stop and start again later? Which is more effective in removing the tooth and allowing you to go on with your day?

The second area is to raise taxes and fees. I, for one, believe we pay enough taxes and any more only forces us to make decisions on what is essential and what is not as discussed in the earlier paragraph, but now in our personal lives. Frankly, this is in direct contrast to the clause “Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness” in that it positions government in between us and our pursuit of happiness.

Please do not get me wrong. God and family are more important to happiness, but money is a tool which can help relieve some of life’s pressures, opening doors to happiness. Lastly, the time-tested and proven path is to lower taxes and lessen regulation to inspire those who still have money for capital expenditures to invest it and start or expand business, driving the state back into the black.

In the last 100 years, there were two great examples of this on the national level. The first was in the 1920s, Warren Harding, and the other was in the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan did it. Yes, make Georgia the state companies yearn to come to and invest in. Drop taxes, lessen regulations, push back on the federal government and return Georgia to the sovereign state it was and watch the state prosper far better than the rest.

So, yes, make your decisions based on knowledge, call your representatives and let them know what is and what is not essential. Then continue to step out and be engaged. It is you, your family, your friends and neighbors, who are having their teeth pulled right now. How do you want to perform the operation? These same things need to occur on the national level also, or have you not noticed the recent CBO report warning of larger deficits and lower federal revenue than projected just a couple days ago?

For those who want higher taxes, remember no one is stopping you from opening your wallet and handing over the needed funds to support your position by actions, instead of just words.



Jeff Korson

Alapaha

Text Only