A Democrat friend of mine asked me one time, “Why are Republicans obsessed with tax cuts?” My characteristically blunt response, drawn from my worldview, was that we were obsessed with tax cuts because we believe in freedom; every dollar taken by government is a dollar that has been honestly earned but cannot be spent freely by its rightful owner.
As he protested, I asked him my own question, “Why are Democrats so intent on spending other people’s money so generously?” We both laughed because we knew we would never agree on fiscal issues, but we still remain friends.
Ronald Reagan’s brilliant quote on government and taxes would have been a better retort: “Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem. ... Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. If it stops moving, subsidize it. ... The problem is not that people are taxed too little; the problem is that government spends too much.” Reagan was a supply-sider. He understood that high tax rates discourage work, investment and growth so he led with the idea that lower tax rates would encourage work, investment and growth. He joked that he knew that his economic policies were working when the media stopped calling supply-side economics "Reaganomics".
Conservatives are clear about which economic policies broadly promote prosperity and families: lower taxes, less regulation, and free trade. We believe in the power of markets to promote an economy based on freedom and opportunity. Conservatives know that competition isn’t always equitable but is based upon equal opportunity that a free-market economy is the fairest way to reward people both for their innovation and labor. These are basic principles of fiscal conservatism regardless of what state you live in. Which brings me around to our state of Alabama.
I’ve been around Alabama politics long enough to distinctly remember the details of Amendment One, Governor Bob Riley’s plan to reform the Alabama tax system. It was defeated at the polls in 2003 and is widely credited with the rise of local and state tea party groups that were formed to help defeat it. Do y’all remember how much that plan was supposed to yield? It was $1.2 billion per year.
What some people might have forgotten is that Amendment One was deemed necessary because, unlike the record-setting budgets of today, Alabama was operating under a severe deficit and experiencing repeated mid-year proration of state budgets. In addition, that plan that was denigrated as just too astronomical and defeated at the polls actually restructured regressive taxes, included needed accountability reforms for school systems, substantively altered teacher tenure and banned political pork.
Alabama had a $1.5 billion surplus this year. What did spending that $1.5 billion of surplus get us? None of those and mainly political pork.
The education budget was the largest budget in the history of the state.
The general fund budget was the largest budget in the history of the state.
And yes, there was an additional $1.5 billion over and above all of the increases that were built into the two aforementioned largest budget plans ever. That $1.5 billion wasn’t discussed in most of our circles, it wasn’t rallied about, voted on by the people of the state, and it certainly wasn’t the cause for an entire movement (though maybe it should be). No, it was quickly and quietly spent as though it was $15.00 of our money rather than $1,500,000,000.00 of it.
Alabama doesn’t have a revenue problem.
Alabama has a spending problem.
Alabama officials who are running for re-election touting the fact that they lowered our taxes and spent less of our money are being less than honest. Alabama state government has increased by 36% in the last four years alone. How’s that for fiscal conservatism? How’s that for a commitment to limited government? Reagan wouldn’t recognize any of that as Reaganomics, that’s for sure. In fact, if your governor or legislator didn’t spend the last four years of their term loudly standing in the way of that astronomical level of growth of state government, they were part of the problem.
My guess is that if you took an informal poll of Republican office-holders in the state of Alabama, of whom there are many, the vast majority of the vast majority would sing the praises of both Reagan and Reaganomics. However, it’s not enough to stand up and mouth the words; you’ve got to actually sing the song. Our Republican governor and Republican legislative supermajority are just “singing watermelon” while holding the hymnal.
The time for allowing that is over. It’s time to demand record tax-cutting rather than record tax-spending in Alabama.
Stephanie Holden Smith is an experienced policy analyst, political commentator, and public speaker. Smith has worked and volunteered in Governmental Affairs in Alabama since 1997, including lobbying for a Fortune 500 company and serving as Deputy Director of Finance for the State of Alabama. She is currently the principal of Thatcher Coalition LLC. To contact Stephanie, please go to http://thatchercoalition.com. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information Commentary@1819News.com.
