|
Stat Io%1 budgets hit. too
<br />By Neal R. Peirce ~ ~ ~ falling on the~ w~fle ~me
<br />
<br />I
<br />I
<br />
<br />/ W~shlngton '
<br /> America's governors, mayors and
<br /> county officials are perturbed about
<br /> President Reagan's latest round of
<br /> proposed budget cuts. They ought to
<br /> be boiling mad. -; ~
<br />
<br /> If the ~'hite' Hous~ h~'lts w. ay, most
<br /> federally assisted state and lOCal pro-
<br /> grams, will be cut 'flnother 12, per-
<br /> cenL Yet already, in the first Reagan
<br />
<br />of the most dangerously expansive
<br />element~ of the federal budget re-'
<br />main almost inviolate.' The presi-
<br />dent, they observe, rejects anything
<br />buLthe most token cuts tn the:snow-
<br />bulling Pentagon budget with its
<br />massive cost overruns. And the
<br />White. I-louse, it's. noted, has yet to
<br />bite the bullet on. the single .most
<br />inflationary element of Social Secu-
<br />rity: the automatic "cost-bt-living" in-
<br />creas ._~s, based on a Consumer Price
<br />
<br /> economy, drive., state and local gov* - Index' that substantially exaggerates
<br /> ernments had to swallow a m'onU-, older persons' real living expenses.
<br /> mental $13 billion in cuts -- plus $2.3 - Shifting to a. more reasonable index
<br />billion in revenue losses through- the -- such as the average rise in work-
<br />'new tax bilL. State and local govern-' in[/Americans' wages, each ,year'
<br />ment, which accounts for only l~l would save billions n°w'and proba-
<br />percent of total federal spending, bly hundreds of bRllons'later in So--
<br />has been required to. absorb 66 per- clal Security payments ~md milttary
<br />cent of the cuts in new budget au-' and civilian federal pensions. '
<br /> thortty for the year.. -. ,' ' :',. · ~- -.
<br /> ...... "" -.:' ' '.:.','- ' One wonders if the Wl~i~[ ~ouse; re.
<br /> But. no~, before C°ng~/es~ has even . allzes how, d~epl~;; it is 9ff.endtng
<br />
<br />enacted final appropriations bills,
<br />and when state and local goverfl-
<br />ments are already' embai'ked' on
<br />their ow~ fiscal 'years, a national
<br />administration panicked by Wall
<br />Street's IndifferenCe to Its economic
<br />.program. turns 'around and' dec4'eim
<br />· that the stat~s-and localities must be
<br />'the ob_J.ec~' of a ~ew spree, of budge/
<br />
<br />some of its' staunchest state:local .al-
<br />lies ~ politicians who lined up cru-
<br />cial support, for'-the president's first-
<br />round budget cuts. Incensed at.
<br />ports the White House might even
<br />recommend the death, of ,general
<br />revenue stihring, "a llfelfne of local
<br />government,", Republican Mayor ' 'kind of sodal nihiltsm, falling to
<br />William Hudnut. of Indianapolis, hts political capital to control mush-
<br />
<br />/:uttlng in the very same fiscal ye~,.'.
<br />.:.'~\? . .,. :~.~-. .: ~..' -. . · . _
<br />Go6d. management: alone should say
<br />that i~,':a ltellnva, way' to -run a ~
<br />roadZ' .Undtscrtinlnaling across4he- - - '~ -. ' ..... : -' '. " ....
<br /> boarfl.~s are'a,'sure~ign off leader- RePublican Vermont Gov. Richard
<br /> ship '.th-at do'esn't' ~mderstand the: .Shelling'. chairman of the- National
<br />.. problems.and'programs it's dealing Governors Association and an early
<br /> with..." :. -, ": .' '~ - ' . ally of Reagan on fiscal restraint and
<br /> ':: "'" ~ reduced tiix~, believes that no one
<br /> 'For all ~heir shortcomings, most. o! ·. ls tellilag the president the serious
<br />
<br /> the pmgrmns run by state and l_oc_~
<br /> .government pre intens~fy people-re-
<br /> lated..Only so much administrative'
<br /> ~:faf' can be fo.und to cover cuts In,,
<br /> hianpower," health, honsi.ng, .m. ass;
<br /> transtL Iow-Income energy and Tel-
<br /> ' .i{tr~ l)ro~-ams ~ and cbrtalnly not
<br /> '{httexa first round of'deep cuts, and
<br />~i' .in the .mld~ of a'fiscal,year ~lready,
<br />;. begun. 'If you count the first-round
<br />Li; Reagan. cuts, the.lmpa.ct of' inflaUon,.
<br />'_~" '.and now the proposed'~ec0.nd round,
<br />.... many social seryi.'ce.,and .energy~as-
<br />:' :':"-ststahce programs 'could loSe 50 ,per-
<br />?.'cent,of '~helr. fede'ral .support la a
<br />;~i.stngl.e .y .e~'.. -- ·
<br />
<br /> it under his 12-percent across-the-
<br /> board cuts, President Reagan is re-
<br /> neging on an oft-repeated 1980'cam,
<br /> paign promise to decentralize power
<br /> and resources by revenue sbartn~
<br /> say Lincoln, Neb., Mayoi' Helen Boo-
<br /> salts, president of the U.S. Confer-
<br /> ence ,of-Mayors, and J. Richmond
<br /> Condor of Richmond County, N.C.,
<br /> president of the National A~sociafldn
<br /> of Counties. The only result, th~ey
<br /> say, will be increased local property
<br /> taxes or, more likely, cuts in pollceo
<br /> fire and social services. ,..
<br />
<br /> Indeed, th~ irony is immense: Short-
<br /> ly after announcing his program, the
<br /> pi-esident flew to New Orleans to
<br /> announce his administration's new
<br /> anti-crime campaign. As Fred Jor-
<br /> dan' o! the National League of Cities
<br /> drily .holed, cutting revenue sharing
<br /> will trigger ,police layoffs coa.~t.-to-
<br /> coast' arid "you can't fight crime
<br />
<br />'~t'S. hard n~)t to conclude that the
<br />president is .maki.ng fundamental er-
<br />'mrs: knocking the financial pins out
<br />from under the very governments he
<br />expects to carry his New Federal-
<br />ism, idenUfying conservatism as a
<br />
<br />· president Of the National League of · r. ooming entitlement programs and
<br />ClUes; said'the country heeds ."a:-so- · to*keep the. defense' budget' within
<br /> ~lni defense" as well as military de- reason ""
<br /> ' leIL~.. . '~- * "'2 ' -" ' .... ' ' '-' *" q'- ':
<br /> The next swing of the political
<br /> dulum could then be a mindless re-
<br />
<br /> social consequences ~ including
<br /> real hurt to people .~ of the ~-cond-
<br /> round budget proposals. It's time, he '
<br /> Insists, for the White House to live up
<br /> to. Its promls~ of. conSUlting gover-
<br /> nors ahd local offlclaI~ before 'It
<br /> sp~ngs, full-blown budget propos~
<br /> on the public. .
<br />
<br />~h~ specter ~ in. 'Snelling's words,
<br />· the potential' "tragedy" --' hanging
<br />over .the new Reagan budget round is
<br />that the entire concept of New Fed.
<br />erallsm, of sharing more authority
<br />with state and local governments,-
<br />.will be irrevocably sullied b.y it!;
<br />
<br />......... '.' ': · '~ ....". '.ldenflflc, Uon with repeate'd,'deep.-
<br />['.':.-What armor's.many state' .~'nd. Iocal:'.-:kutslnt6socialprograrns. ... .Neal R. Pdirce l~'a columnlst who
<br />~?~0'vi~rnment leadem'-~', even: If... :A. .'.~. ..: · ..~ · '... wi-iteS on xtate and local gbvern.
<br />
<br /> · version t~ a plan that by 1980 had
<br /> . run its course and proved unwork-
<br /> able: a federal grp, n, t program for
<br /> every perceived need, manipulating
<br /> and undermining local decision-mak-
<br /> ing and fueling inflation with non-
<br /> stop deficit spendtn&
<br />
<br />By forcefully opposing' the second-
<br />round budget cuts Reagan proposes,
<br />"governors and local officials could
<br />'be doing the president a favor by
<br />forcing him off an ill-starred course.
<br />In Shelling they have a natural lead-
<br />er who sees the deep mutuallty of
<br />state, county and city interests. But
<br />are. they angry enough to mobilize an
<br />intense effort to save themselves ~-
<br />and perhaps Reagan in the process?
<br />
<br /> -;
<br />
<br />
<br />
|