The “Just cut everything by 1% and meet me at Wild Quail by noon” plan
What to cut? What to cut? That is the question. In these days of bipartisanship, we can all agree the government is bloated. A huge festering blob of puss. It is disgusting really. Governments…yuck! All full of losers who couldn’t hack it in the private sector, sponging up all our tax dollars. Lazy shitbag bus drivers, and stupid park rangers with their dumb hats. Christamighty, get a real job! And teachers, ugh…don’t get me started. How can we pick “winners” out of this sad sack collection of losers?
And yet, we need a balanced budget. What’s that you say? Raise taxes? Oh please. How much can we really ask of smokers before they start leaving for Pennsylvania? It is a quandary. Enter Brian Pettyjohn. He is the man with the plan. And it is a plan you can fit on a Wawa receipt, even if you have large childish handwriting.
1) A 1% across the board cut to everything (but not jobs or state payroll).
2) A “right-to-work” law.
I’m not sure how a right-to-work law that would allow non-union members to enjoy the benefits of being in a union, would help balance the budget, but Republicans seem to view “right-to-work” as some kind of economic development miracle cure.
“So the obvious question is: What do we do instead?
“If you ask each of the 25 lawmakers who signed the letter, you may get 25 different answers. Many of my colleagues agree that all state agencies should share the load in an effort to reduce wasteful spending. Just a one percent reduction across the board – without cutting jobs or pay – would save taxpayers about 40 million dollars a year, more than triple what the governor’s plan would bring in.
“And frankly, we would prefer to be in a position where budget cuts are not necessary. We’d prefer balancing the budget through an improved economy. Time and again Republicans have introduced legislation to begin the discussion on prevailing wage and right-to-work laws… initiatives that have been successful in other states in attracting more high-wage jobs. But these pieces of legislation have been buried in committee or flat out ignored by Democrats here in Delaware.
“Here’s hoping the governor and Democrats will finally engage in a meaningful discussion with us on these and other ideas to move Delaware in the right direction. Thank you.”
aren’t we already a right to work state?
No. In Delaware you have to pay union dues to get the union benefits. For now anyway.
“reduce wasteful spending”
I know there is waste and fat. Every single organization, from the family to the largest federal agency has waste and fat. But I never hear any specifics. What spending does the state have that has no express purpose in law or need? If Pettyjohn is able to provide a single specific example of something to cut that has no negative consequence and that will save money, I will become one of his biggest supporters. Has he identified some specific waste in a specific state agency?
I have an idea, let’s eliminate the Community Transportation Fund ($16M) that gives each legislator $250,000 to pass out to local communities for small infrastructure projects. If the local communities have needs, they should be free to raise the necessary revenue instead of getting a handout directly from John.
this “grow the economy” bs needs to stop. Majority of the states revenue is not connected to the economy. You have to find new revenue. The gas tax looks better everyday. But republicans are stupid and democrats are cowards. So that’s that.
Rethugs aren’t stupid, just venal and dishonest. They know that, by repeating the Big Lie over and over again, they will move the Overton Window (see: no gas tax).
Why? Because Democrats are cowards. You got THAT right.
When you can’t even raise a “tax” that isn’t even a tax but a reduction of some paracite’s subsidy, you are in trouble.
Amen Jason. An unnecessary subsidy that only goes to seniors in the know. And I can’t believe that Democrats are actually admitting to the fact that they are complicit in using this subsidy to bribe seniors to vote on school board referendums. Leave it to democrats in Dover to support bribing voters, who historically vote against tax increases, to get them to the polls to vote on school funding. These Dems in Dover are either stupid, cowards, or closet republicans.
I felt that I should respond to this post to expand on some points and to spark further discussion. I stand by the basic premise; that there is waste in state government, and that waste should be taken care of before increasing revenue or cutting items that so many of our residents depend on. Is waste rampant? I wouldn’t say so; but when the Chief Executive is looking to make cuts that are going to force a large group of Delawareans to choose between taxes and medicine or taxes and food, then we need to explore alternatives. Now, a 1% cut across the top may not be possible. There are issues with contracts, federally mandated expenditures, required maintenance, and other challenges to an across-the-board cut. But the real point is to begin a sincere dialogue.
So, with what we are left with to trim, we face another dilemma. Departments have the tendency to spend-out their budget each year; no matter what. If they don’t, it’s almost guaranteed that they will receive less money the next year, which encourages waste. What are some of those wasteful items you may ask? I can give you a very visible example of it down here in my district. DelDOT has been replacing the rectangular green road signs (that are at intersections; mostly above the stop signs) that were installed a few years ago with NEW rectangular signs. The difference? Road names are not all capitalized. Oh, and there is a nice white border around the signs. What is driving this? The Federal “Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices”. Some of Delaware’s signs are not in compliance with the new regulations that are coming out in 6 years… SIX YEARS! So today, when we are trying to tighten the belt as best we can, we are spending money on replacing perfectly good signs. To me, that’s waste. Will this one area fix out budget problem? Absolutely not. However 10, 15 or 20 of these examples across state government may save millions of YOUR tax dollars to be used for programs that we need; substance abuse treatment, legitimate roadway maintenance, adolescent violence prevention, programs for children and the elderly… this list also can go on and on. All without “raising revenue”.
Prevailing wage is another area where there can be some discussion, and common ground can be found. Looking at the current rates (they can be found near the bottom of the page here http://dia.delawareworks.com/labor-law/prevailing-wage.php), there are some of these trades that are paid a hugely different rate just a few miles apart from each other. I personally do not want to scrap the system; I have a LOT of respect for unions and union workers in Delaware. My father was a member of IBEW for almost 30 years. I do think that with some re-working on how prevailing wage is calculated we can put MORE Delawareans to work on MORE projects for the same cost to taxpayers; and still pay our workers a fair wage.
We are in a mess here that has been decades in the making, and I’m not throwing
Democrats under the bus for all of the issues. Some in the GOP have been complicit as well, and should bear responsibility. That being said, hindsight is 20/20, and if you never take the time to figure out what you did wrong, you’re doing everyone a disservice. We have problems, and doing the same thing over and over again will not solve them. The best thing to do is shed our preconceived notions of what the other party wants. Come to the table with an open mind- a statesman’s mind- and see where we can find common ground. No one person has all of the answers. But if you get enough open-minded people together and talk to each other, then you have a shot at figuring things out.
I don’t wish to participate in a back and forth in this forum; that is not the point of my chiming in here. I do welcome ANYONE to contact me; whether you live in my district or not. What I do in Dover and my votes don’t just affect the 19th district, and I am well aware of that. I am also keenly aware that it’s the voters of the 19th District that have sent me to Dover. My Dover office number is 302-744-4117, and my Georgetown number is 302-858-0694. You can also email me at my state email address. I host monthly coffees; the next one will be this Saturday 2/21 at Jimmy’s Grille in Bridgeville from 7-8 AM. I always enjoy reading DelawareLiberal; especially the comments, and realize that we are not so far apart in many issues. I’ve heard a great number of good things about many on this forum by people I respect. And I hope that we may continue the process of talking TO each other, instead of talking AT each other.
Brian Pettyjohn
State Senator; 19th District
So we can put you down as a yes for giving up your Community Transportation Fund and a pay cut for your part time job as legislator, Brian?
Well I am no expert on the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). I am however, an expert on federal regulations in general and the CFR. So I can tell you any regulation that will be out in 6 years has yet to be written or disseminated for public review. There are published regulations which have a phased implementation timeframe, although 6 years is pretty long. Perhaps you were referring to the implementation period for existing regulations?
Additionally, the use of a specific font with a positive contrast increases legibility at distance, which is especially of concern with older drivers. Also, the new signs use retroreflective sheeting to increase the nighttime conspicuity of traffic signs so they are safely and effectively visible in the light of an approaching driver’s headlamps.
Bottom line. Signs are being replaced for safety reasons with considerations for an aging population. Is this a questionable expenditure at this juncture considering the budget woes? Perhaps. Is it waste? No. It needs to be done. Unless of course there is no interest in the safety of senior citizens driving at night.
Let’s start at the very top! Delaware is one of the smallest by land area & population, but our Governor is the 8th highest paid in the nation, maybe he should take a pay cut!!
Bloom Energy: How much money do they need?? They’re still raising capital, PRIVATELY!
Enough is enough, why are we still on the hook for Bloom! That money could be going else where.
Hopefully, this is declared invalid & we won’t be on the hook for Bloom. See this interesting article. You won’t see this in the New Journal….http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2015/01/20/bloom-energy-continues-capital-buildup-with-130-million/
Look at the layers and layers of management and redundant policies and procedures in state agencies.