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I State, .local.budgets.hit too hard
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<br />By Neal R. Peirce
<br />
<br />Washington
<br />America's governors, mayors and
<br />county ofl'iclals are perturbed about
<br />President Reagan's ialest round of
<br />
<br />--- is that th~ full' weight of the bud-
<br /> I~ ax is falling on them, willie some'
<br /> of the most dangerously expansive
<br /> element~ of t~e federal budget re-
<br /> main almost tavtolate.-The presl-
<br /> dent, they observe, rejects anything
<br /> butt he most token cuts in the~now-
<br />
<br /> proposed budget cuts..They ought to · bailing Pentagon budget with Its
<br /> be bolllngmad. / .. '' -. massive cost overruns. And the
<br /> ' ' ' ' ~ ~ White, House, it's. noted, has y~ to
<br />If the ~hite'Hous~ has'Its way, most bite the bullet on-' the single most
<br />federally nss~ed state.nd lo~al pro- inflationary element of Social '$ecu-
<br />grams, will be cut '~nother 12, per- rity: the automatic '"cost-bt-living" tn,
<br />cent. Yet already, In the first Reagan 'creas_~s, based on a Consumer Price
<br />economy, drive, state and local gov- - IndeX'that substantially exaggerates,
<br />ernments 'had' to swallow 'a m'onU-, alder persons' real living expenses.
<br />mental $13 btlllon in cuts -- plus $2.3 - Shifting-in a-more reasonable index
<br />billion in revenue losses through- the · -- such as the average rise in work-
<br />'new lax bill,. State and Iocal govern-' ir~ Americans' wages eacti ,year'
<br />meat, which' accounts for only UI woutd save billions nov,'and proba-
<br />percent of total /ederai spending, bly hundreds of billions·later in So--
<br />has been required to,0bsorb 66 per- .clal Security payments~and military
<br />cent of the cuts in new budget au-' and civilian fed.,eral pensions.:
<br /> thority for the year...-. · ,' -' .--' --' :,- . ..,~ . --
<br /> ........ . '.' .. ' .c-. .-{A:.' One wonders if th~ White ~0u~e; re-
<br /> But. no~, before Col~gres~s.' has' even . allzes how. d~epl~/ it is ' .off.ending'
<br />enacted final appropriations bills, some of lts~staunchest s'tate:-locaI..al-
<br />and when state and local gover~ lies- politicians who lined uP cru--
<br />meats ar.e already' embai'ked~ on cial support, for'- the' president's 'first.
<br />their owr~ fiscal ~/ears, a naffonai round budget cuts. Incensed at. re-
<br />administration panicked by W.all- ports the White House might even
<br />Street's indifference to its economic recommend the dea~ of ,general
<br />program lures 'arOtmd and' dec4'e~. - revenue si[bring* "a lifeline of local -
<br />ttmt the stat~s and 'localities must be government,", Republican Mayor
<br />;the object,'of ~ ~ew spree.of budge[ ' William Hudnut of Indianapolts,
<br />
<br /> revenue sharing, ~nd then including
<br /> it under his 12-percent across-the-
<br /> board cuts, President Reagan ts re-
<br />· neging on an oft-repeated 1980'cam-
<br /> paign promise to decentralize power
<br /> ang resources by revenue sharing,
<br /> say Lincoln, Neb., Mayo? Helen Boo-
<br /> salis, president of the U.S. Confer-
<br /> ence · of' Mayors, and $. Richmond
<br /> Condor ot Richmond County, N.C.
<br /> president of the NatiOnal A~iatldn
<br /> of Counties. The only result,
<br /> say, will be increased local property-
<br /> taxes or. more likely, cuts in police,
<br /> fire and social services. .,...
<br />
<br /> Indeed, ~ iror~y is immense: Short-
<br /> ly after announcing his program, the
<br /> p~-~ident flew to New Orleans to
<br /> announce his administration's new
<br /> anti-crime campaign. As Fred Sot-
<br /> dan' of the National League of Cit/es
<br /> drily .noted, cuffing revenue sharing
<br /> wilt trigger .police layoffs coast-to-
<br /> coati' add "you can,t., tight c:r:lme
<br /> with6ut police.~' · -"
<br />
<br /> ~_~ baird 'n$~ to conclude that the
<br /> president' is .maki.ng fundamental'er-
<br /> ' rors: knocking, the financial pins out
<br /> h'om under the very governments he .
<br /> expects to carry, his New Federal-
<br />. ism, identifying con.~ervatism as a
<br />'kind of ~ nihilism_, fa/ling to use
<br />his political capital to control mush-
<br />
<br /> Cutting in the very same fiscal year,.'.
<br />.;. ~-'- . ,,~ ,;.-~-.'..;,~:.-. .. .- ,
<br /> Good.'. mamigement~ ~one should ~y
<br /> that ~a ~eHu~y to.~n a ~
<br /> ~&7 ,Und~na~ ac~.
<br /> ~a~ ~ ~'~'~re ~ ~ I~der-
<br /> sMp (~t do~n'l 'undem~nd the
<br />
<br />· president 'of the National League of · rOoming entitlement programs and
<br />'Cities, said'the country heeds ."a-so-. ' tb 'keep. the. defens~ budget' wi~
<br />~tal delete" as we.1! as raliltary d
<br />f~.nse. . '~- ~ - · 2' ' ..?,.!-
<br /> .. .... ;.:,' ::.:.~ .... ,. .:.:-...v- ' ':~ 'Ehe. next swing of the'potittcatpe~..
<br />RepubIican Vermont Gov.. Richard ' *dulum could then'be a mindless re-
<br />.Shelling, chairman of the-.NaUonal "version to:a plan that by 1980 had
<br />Governors. Association and an early . run Its course and proved unwork-
<br />
<br /> · problems'.afld'progrnm-'~ it's ddaling
<br /> witlL;: ~..:.~.'. .... ,"°'. -TM-' ' . ally o! Reagan on fiscal restraint and
<br /> · ' -'/ "~"' " ~ reduced t/lx~, believes that no one
<br />'For all ~h~lr shortcomings' most of-.'Is tellllag the .president the serious
<br />. th'e p. rograrns run' by st:a. ,to and
<br />.government ,a.re Intensely people;re,
<br />· l,a, ted. Only so much admlntstraflve'
<br />· ~ .tm'" cim .be .found to cover, cuts. In..
<br />manpowor,' health, housl.ng, ..m,a~l;.
<br />' transit, iow-Income energy and wel-
<br />-~r~ ,oro~-ams -- and cbrtalnly ~o~
<br />'{~after~ first round of'deep cuts, ahd
<br />~..."in the midst of a~fiscal,year ~lready~
<br />;=. began. If. you c.ount the first-roffnd
<br />L~- Reagan. cuts, the.impa.ct of' Inflation,.
<br />~".and now'the propesed.sec~nd round,
<br />· : "many social seryi, ce.~nd -energy~as- ~ that 'the entire concept of NeW Fed-
<br />.r.".:.slstahce' programs ~could los~ 50 ,per- eralism, of sh~ring more authority
<br />~ cent,of 'their fede'ral .support in a with state and local governments,.
<br />
<br /> st~fl, ngs-full-blown budget proposa!s'
<br />,o_n th: r.'/
<br />'/'n~. specter -- i~ '~;nelling's words,
<br />· the potential' ."tragedy" ---' hanging
<br />over .the new Reagan budget round is.
<br />
<br />able: a federal gr~nt program for
<br />every perceived need, manlpula .ti.ag
<br />and undermining local deciston-mak-
<br />social consequences -- including lng and fueling, trlHation with non-
<br />real hurt to people.--, of the/econd- stop deficit sPendln~ ~ . .
<br />rdund budget proposals. It's time, he ' - : - --
<br />insists,'for the White House to live up · By forcefally oppodlng' th~ second-
<br />to. its promts~ of consulting gover- round budget cuts Reagan proposes, .
<br />.nors ahd local officials before 'it" governors and local offlct~_i~ could
<br />
<br />'be doing the president a-favor by
<br />forcing him off an iH-starred courso_
<br />I.n Shelling they have a natural lead-
<br />er who sees the deep mutuality 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 tn the process?
<br />
<br />~(:!.';~hat annoys .many state' had. local: '.-:Euts lht6soclal programs.- : :.. .Neal R. P~trce i~'-a' columnist'who
<br />;jo~hrnme. nt leaders' .2_!. even'..lf... '...~ :' ' '-, ..... . "~ "-~" · '..i ..m-lteS on .state and local
<br /> ).~..e~ri~.r~l~lo.s~y....so'·publicl~'..-By: flr~'t' considering e'xtlngu~l!tng' meat...." · ' .'*
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