Unless there’s an even bigger example of political and policy stupidity waiting in the wings, the answer is Yes, and it was announced in December of 2009.
This example of political and public policy malpractice, unless reversed, will likely lead to the Democrats losing control of the State House of Representatives. And it will be on merit. More specifically, proof that the serial cellar-dwellers do not deserve to actually run the place, mainly because they refuse to govern as Democrats. After all, there’s a reason why they languished in the minority for 24 years. And, despite languishing, there was never a serious challenge to their alleged political mastermind, Bob Gilligan. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.
You may have missed it, but Unstable Isotope blogged about the meeting where this losers’ strategy was unveiled.
The mind boggles at what Speaker Gilligan said at this Progressive Democrats of Delaware meeting:
Gilligan told us that they expect at least a $300M-$400M budget gap next year (that’s before the additional job losses in Delaware City were announced) and and he said point blank that they are not going to raise taxes again. Therefore the budget gap is going to be closed by slashing programs. He didn’t know if state workers were going to take another hit, but he thought that they probably wouldn’t get their pay cut back next year. The state programs mentioned by Gilligan were the following:
– Medicaid – Gilligan discussed the “Missouri solution” which was to toughen Medicaid eligibility
– Universities – Gilligan said that three state universities were a lot for a state with a population of less than 1M people.
– SEED – Gilligan stated that the state now pays for 15 years of school: full day Kindergarten, grades 1-12 and 2 years of college at Del Tech.
– Parks – Gilligan stated that the state took over some of the city/county parks in the last decade which has added to the budget woes.
I don’t know if Speaker Gilligan is speaking for himself, his caucus, or for the Governor.
But I do know that this is a one-way ticket to political Palookaville if ever I saw one. The people who got screwed the most in 2009 are gonna get even more royally screwed in 2010. Oh, and they just happen to be core groups of a Democratic electoral coalition. Brilliant. Do any of these elected officials actually spend time in their districts anymore listening to their constituents, or do they all now have places down in Fenwick?
This is a public policy disaster because the very services that Gilligan says are earmarked for cuts are precisely the kind of services that people need. Especially Democratic people. Especially during an economic downturn. Cut health care for the poor? Check. Deny students the chance to get an education, including college, even if they can’t afford one? Check. Cutting back on education creating a less-prepared workforce to lead us out of recession and to make Delaware more competitive? Check. Continuing to screw state workers? Check.
And these are merely the cuts that Gilligan has discussed publicly. You can bet that there’ll be others, which means that those who depend on state services, primarily Democrats, will fall through the safety net. This means that, for two consecutive years, a Democratic administration and an allegedly Democratic General Assembly plan to balance the budget on the backs of its core constituents. Sheer genius. You can bet that working people just can’t wait to go to the polls to thank the Honorables for screwing them. And Gilligan is saying it openly a year before the election. Because, of course, there is simply no other way to help balance the budget. Except that there is, and everybody knows it.
And that’s why this is also a political disaster waiting to happen. Even before the General Assembly reconvenes, Bob Gilligan has announced that his Caucus is unilaterally disarming itself from its most powerful weapon from both a policy and political standpoint. That weapon is restoring progressivity to the Delaware Tax Code by increasing PIT rates for those making over (give or take) $100,000/year.
Delaware now has a flat tax for those earning over $60,000 annually. It wasn’t always this way. Starting with Steve Forbes’ doppelganger, Crazy Uncle Pierre (whose family benefited more than anyone else), and continuing through the administrations of Metamucil Mike and Robocarper, the top rates were cut and consolidated to the point where the To the Manor Born set pays the same rate on its income as do police, firefighters, and most middle-class professionals. Simply put, all the progressivity has been wrung from Delaware’s Tax Code, and the only people who have benefited are the very wealthy. That may have been OK during the go-go boom times, when Delaware’s economy was literally built on a house of (credit) cards, but it is unconscionable today.
Yet here we have the Democratic Speaker of the House proclaiming that all tax hikes are off the table. And they should be off the table for those in the middle class and working poor who are suffering from the double whammy of increased taxes and fewer services. But to not raise taxes on those who have gamed the system for 30 years now is, I don’t know any other word for it, stupid.
Look at the politics. D’s propose restoring progressivity to the tax code by raising the brackets on the well-to-do. Maybe it passes (I think it ultimately would), maybe it doesn’t. Either way, Dems have their issue: Times were bad, everybody had to sacrifice, and the bluebloods were finally made to share in that sacrifice. That’s one way to get D voters out in November, by letting them know that their legislators really are on their side.
From a Rethug standpoint, this is their worst nightmare. We already know, based on last June’s antics, that the R’s will try to get away with doing nothing, and simply lay the blame on the D’s. Dick Cathcart will once again be crying crocodile tears for state workers. And he can get away with it if D’s don’t call their bluff. OK, call their bluff, Speaker Gilligan: “Stand with us in protecting those who have been hardest hit by requiring those who have had it real good to sacrifice for the common good.”
The House R’s would then have two choices: grudgingly free up enough votes for some sort of tax on the wealthy, or face the blame for budgetary gridlock by refusing to ask the silverspoonistas to ante up a bit of their filthy lucre. Either way, it’s a political lose for them. Contributions from the Greenville crowd that bankrolls all their campaigns slow, and/or they are forced to explain why the privileged few are immune from sacrificing anything, unlike everybody else. And the D’s should stand firm on this. Don’t compromise it to death. There will still have to be cuts, but this will generate a significant amount of revenue, improve the Ds electoral chances, and let everyone know that they’re not just paying lip service to their core constituencies.
Failing that, the D’s will have to seek reelection on the theme of “We made the tough decisions that had to be made.” And that’s true, to an extent.
But if they lose their House majority, it will be because they didn’t make the easy choices that were staring them in the face. At least their staff now has experience in moving the furniture. And it’s all downhill to the basement.