Heath Haussamen
Regardless of whether anyone likes it, the state is probably going to have to make deeper cuts and raise revenue in January. Who will stand up and lead in these tough times?
There’s been a lot of bloviating coming from the governor’s office and administration lately about the work lawmakers did during the special session that ended a week ago.
Which is kinda funny, considering that, during the session, Richardson said very little about the proposals being discussed. No news conferences. Only a couple of news releases. One TV interview.
The day the session opened, Richardson announced his plan to balance the state’s budget – tiny cuts, no revenue-raising measures and using a bunch of non-recurring revenue that wouldn’t do a thing past this year to help the state cope with the economic downturn.
Richardson tried to walk a tightrope between those who wanted severe cuts and those who wanted tax increases by essentially doing neither. But an overwhelming majority of lawmakers immediately realized the foolishness in a plan that did little to actually solve the state’s budget crisis and rejected it.
So they approved 7.6 percent cuts to most agencies under the governor’s control in addition to cuts to most other state agencies and education. That slashing isn’t enough to fully address the state’s massive shortfall – yes, things really are that bad – but the bills lawmakers approved are a start.
Though he largely skipped the legislative debate during the session over how much to cut, Richardson started lobbing bombs immediately after it ended. Through his blog and news releases from various state agencies, he warned of the end of the world if this or that cut was made.
He has accused lawmakers of playing politics. He has accused the media of not doing its job. The overall message Richardson has tried to convey is that he and his administration are victims, having already done more than their fair share to solve the economic crisis and now being pushed to make greater cuts than others.
Boo hoo.
Is Richardson running out the clock on his tenure?
Here’s the reality: Lawmakers share blame with Richardson for getting us into this mess. As the governor has rightly pointed out, he hasn’t increased the state budget dramatically in the last few years without legislative approval that, in most years, was overwhelming.
And there could have been a challenge to Richardson’s proclamation that revenue-raising measures couldn’t be considered in the special session, but most lawmakers were all too happy to oblige Richardson on that one because they don’t want to make the hard choice to raise taxes any more than he does.
However, what’s most stunning to me is that Richardson appears to want nothing to do with solving the state’s budget crisis. He proposed a plan that was unrealistic because it did nothing to actually fix the problem. He tied lawmakers’ hands so they couldn’t raise revenue, but told them he’ll consider revenue-raising measures in January.
And ever since lawmakers approved cuts greater than those Richardson proposed, he has created the appearance that he intends to veto the steeper cuts than he wanted.
It’s almost as if the governor doesn’t think he’s going to have to be here when the state makes the difficult choices that will address this budget crisis, and he’s trying to run out the clock on his time as governor.
Of course, in the background is the fact that Richardson has been trying to return to Washington since he arrived in New Mexico in 2002 to run for governor. Certainly, it’s less fun to be governor when you have to figure out what to cut than when you have the money to build commuter rails and futuristic spaceports. I don’t know that I’d want Richardson’s job right now.
But it’s in tough times that we find out which of our politicians are leaders, because we see who steps up and who does not. Richardson has, thus far, failed to lead.
Who will stand up and lead?
The reality, as lawmakers on the left and right seem to acknowledge, is that the state is probably going to face a deficit in January of something in the vicinity of $1 billion, or more than 15 percent of the budget. Regardless of whether progressives on the left or conservatives on the right like it, the state is probably going to have to make deeper cuts and raise revenue to balance the budget.
Which means no one is going to be happy when it’s over.
That’s life. Times are tough. If Richardson vetoes the budget bills approved last week, lawmakers should immediately call themselves into an extraordinary session to overturn his vetoes. While they’re at it, they should consider also putting all options on the table – more cuts and revenue-raising measures – and try to come up with a compromise none will like, but all can live with.
Striking such a deal – in the absence of any leadership from the governor – would require serious leadership from lawmakers from both parties. Thus far, too few lawmakers have shown a willingness to make that happen.
But happen it must. Who will stand up and lead in these tough times?