Carter Bundy
Talk about a thankless job.
Legislators don’t get paid, except for a per diem.
They’re expected to put in full-time work for at least two months a year (almost everyone is on at least one interim committee), and respond to constituents year round.
They have to raise money and campaign — every other year for representatives and every fourth year for senators.
They have to weigh touchy hot-button social issues, grow good jobs, protect the environment, alleviate poverty, improve health, bolster education, ensure public safety and figure out how best to carry out dozens of smaller but critical functions.
On top of that, they’re being pressured on each and every matter by citizens and organizations representing everyone from out-of-state mega-corporations to in-state workers’ unions.
Almost no one ever says thank you, and you can be sure plenty of people express their discontent.
So first, thank you for serving (and even, for the election losers, for running). It’s a brutal job, no more so than when our national recession takes a huge bite out of our revenues.
Those were the days
It’s a bit easier to mitigate the difficulty of the job when we’re rolling in money. Tax rebate checks for everyone here, tax cuts for millionaires there, looking the other way when the big boys from out of state hire lawyers and local lobbyists to cleverly dodge taxes… no need to upset anyone when the job is tough enough.
In addressing the fallout from the national recession from earlier this decade, the Legislature has already cut state government by over 10 percent, while protecting millionaires’ tax cuts and refusing to close the loopholes that allow out-of-state corporations to avoid paying the same taxes as New Mexico companies.
But now it’s crunch time. Something has to give. There are some ideas that are almost unanimously approved by the electorate, like ending our absurdly extravagant double-dipping policies.
The only place in state government where there’s significant excess weight is in the top levels of exempt employees, where the bulk of the 1,200 or so state double dippers reside.
The Legislature ought to end this charade immediately, with a simple blanket repeal of the 2004 law allowing people to collect both a nice retirement and their full pay.
Legislators should calmly tell double dippers “Sorry, folks, but y’all are going to have to live on $100,000 a year instead of $180,000 a year. Government isn’t as lucrative as the private sector, and the price you pay for getting to help set the direction for our state is that you don’t get to use the system to double your salary.”
That gets us millions of dollars, both for the general fund and PERA, and will lead to at least some of the most expensive (and sometimes duplicative) government jobs going vacant. The savings from those vacancies are harder to identify, but they’d likely be in the tens of millions of dollars.
After that, though, the sledding gets tough. Whether legislators restore revenue cuts or slash the general fund even further, they’re going to get grief.
Liberation
In a weird way, the fact that every legislator is going to take heat from someone is liberating. If you repeal some of the millionaires’ generous tax cuts from the good old days, close some corporate tax-avoidance loopholes, set alcohol and tobacco taxes at rates that more accurately reflect their cost to taxpayers, and end double-deductions (the PIT add-back), the criticism and payback from Arkansas-based Wal-Mart’s lobby, the big out-of-state alcohol and tobacco folks and millionaires will be scathing.
Balance the budget on middle class workers with too many cuts, and y’all know you’re going to hear from workers, health and kids’ advocates, churches and (as a generalization), Dems.
In the background, of course, are the 2010 and 2012 elections. Legislators will tell you privately that they support ideas x, y and z, but hey, you can’t do that right before an election. The thing making this crisis unique, though, is it requires such tough choices that there’s nothing legislators can do that won’t have negative electoral consequences from someone. That can be liberating.
Two guidelines
So here are two guidelines, respectfully submitted, for legislators to consider when choosing between those two sides:
• First, remember where people really stand. Is Wal-Mart going to come down hard on legislators if they make them actually pay the same taxes as local, New Mexico business? Yeah, that’s a safe bet. Ouch.
But were they really big fans of most legislators to start with? Are they going to ride to the rescue of the majority if the majority protects their loopholes? Maybe, but given their past record in New Mexico and their national tendencies, I wouldn’t count on it.
• Second, do what you think is right. I know that’s a guideline all legislators try to live by, but with the liberation of this crisis, if there’s ever a situation in which Shakespeare’s admonition to be true to yourself ever applied, it’s now.
What do you, as a legislator, think is more important: protecting middle class workers, public safety, education, and health care for poor kids, or guaranteeing more years of fabulous tax cuts for millionaires and protecting out-of-state corporate loopholes?
Being a legislator in this state, during this crisis, is pretty darn thankless. Be true to yourself and the people who elected you to represent them, and I would respectfully submit that your choices, while still incredibly difficult, will at least be a bit more palatable — to voters and to yourself.
Bundy is the political and legislative director for AFSCME in New Mexico. The opinions in his column are personal and do not necessarily reflect any official AFSCME position. You can learn more about him by clicking here. Contact him at carterbundy@yahoo.com.