Re-Elect Jim Moeller

In reading The Columbian’s editorial I could not but think of the famous bible story of Samuel, the prophet and his famous warning. Samuel’s nation had been self-governing and had had no king. But now, with a national emergency and under the threat of invasion, the people became panicky, and demanded a monarch who they thought would save the country. Samuel famously warns the people about the freedoms they will lose but to no avail. Panic wins. The world’s first recorded experiment in self-government ends.

For over two-hundred years in America, and for over seven hundred years in the English speaking world, our form of self government has hinged on this simple idea: the lower house of legislative branch of government controls the purse, and a simple majority within that chamber passes all spending measures. The lower chamber is often called the people’s house because it’s the place closest to the people: its members must face the people more frequently than any other elected office, and its members represent smaller constituencies. This is the very fabric of our democracy: that the people most in touch with the people should be the home of the budget process. The check on this power is not only the eventual assent of the upper house and the executive, but the people who will be consulted within less than two years from the time any budget is passed.

And now, with the midst of the most protracted economic crises in a lifetime, the learned Columbian editorial board has hit the panic button and is prepared to shred convention, tradition, and democracy. There are many good reasons to oppose Tim Eyman’s I-1053, but the greatest of these is how it is a direct attack on our basic republican democratic form of government.

Naturally, the most commented reason given is the sad crash of California, since that state adopted super-majority rule. But I think the two are highly connected. If you abandon the experience of a hundred generations of Anglo-American history, do not expect a radical experiment to turn out so well!
The central theory behind Eyman’s I-1053 is essentially undemocratic. As with the people in the Samuel’s day, I-1053 supporters are saying we need to be saved from ourselves, and that we cannot be trusted to govern ourselves.

I place my faith in our democratic tradition of representative democracy. The people elect their representatives and the people’s representatives write a budget that sets spending and tax levels in a coherent package. Within a year, those same representatives must face the people and present their program, both spending and taxes. Government is not a cafeteria, nor can the process of making fiscal policy be done cafeteria style. Because representatives must face the people, there is a natural incentive for them to find every possible way to avoid new taxes.

One obvious impact is the handing to a minority what would otherwise be majority powers. As Americans we have all witnessed, perhaps with bemused detachment, as nations with many small parties in their parliaments, struggle with forming a government. Invariably, tiny minorities in these societies end up with absurd powers, often at the cost of the majority. In this proposal, one or two state representatives, perhaps themselves elected each by fewer than 50% of their own voters could call the shots on any deal to take a budget over the threshold. Can you say “pork for the back of beyond?”

As a member of the state legislature and someone who had a front row seat and vote to the process of what the majority party went through to balance the budget over two years; starting with cutting 9 billion dollars with no tax increase in 2009, cutting another 3 billion in 2010, sweeping ALL reserves from ALL accounts and filling a budget hole with 5 billion in one time monies from the feds and resorting to only 800 million mostly in taxes on beer, cigarettes, bottled water, candy and gum to help save services to our poor, elderly and disabled and still ended up with a budget that is 1 billion dollars smaller than the last one – the FIRST TIME that has happened since 1951.

As the projected recovery stalled over the Summer, the governor has recently cut another 6.3% across the board to maintain enough money in reserves and balance the budget until June of 2011, the end of the 2 year fiscal period.  Throughout this effort, reduction and reform were foremost. One example, 10 “furlough” days (leave without pay) are required in many state departments to balance the budget. That equals a 10% reduction in wages.

Ever since George Wallace, famed of the schoolhouse door, denounced civil servants as “pointy headed bureaucrats”, bashing citizens who choose to serve us by working for the state has become something of a political cottage industry.

However emotionally and politically rewarding bashing public employees may be, its important to understand that we need a professional work force to do the public’s business. Whether its civil engineering in the department of transportation or experienced people to work on consumer complaints in the attorney general’s office, we need to maintain the best workforce for this state we can. Decent pay, good benefits and job security in public service jobs that by nature lack the level of upward mobility that the private sector offers, are the way in which the public sector is able to attract good talent. The Columbian’s editorial board needs to get out a little more. Go try to do business with a state that has shredded its public workforce!

Panic and economic crises make good people do dumb things. Unfortunately, The Columbian seems to have lost its traditional objectivity when it comes to economics, taxes and spending.

The recession is officially over and the recovery is underway. Many years of slow rebuilding are ahead of us, and for most people, this long era of repair will feel like a recession. But we have to look forward and we have to try not to lose our minds or our nerve.
Tim Eyman’s I-1053 is a panic driven measure which will undermine our democracy, cripple the state and slow our climb back to health. Lets keep our cool.

Rep. Jim Moeller
49th Legislative District