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 Let’s Treat the State Budget like Our Family Budget
by Tom Campbell
June 4, 2009
The recession is forcing us to prioritize choices in how and where we spend our money. Evidence indicates we are saving more, paying off credit cards and making better decisions more in keeping with our present incomes. Even as we might experience some pain, many agree there are valuable lessons we need to relearn which will be good for us in the future.
Judging by dollar amounts, a case can be made that governments, like consumers, have increased spending exponentially over the past decade or so. Unlike families, governments are not so nimble and responsive in making the hard choices about where to spend money. Government leaders were initially hopeful that small across-the-board cuts to all agencies would meet funding shortfalls, but they are now coming to the realization that this is not a short-term problem and they must make some hard, and perhaps permanent, decisions.
This dark economic cloud over us could yield a silver lining if we will recognize that now is the ideal time to examine and reform state government. We could and should consolidate departments, job functions, and layers of bureaucracy that have grown unwieldy and unproductive in the more than four decades since the last attempts at reorganization were made. The benefits would be enormous and include making government smaller, more effective and accountable while also spending less.
North Carolina must also immediately initiate budget reform. While the Senate acknowledged our antiquated tax code they only scratched the surface. Great good could come from a more equitable, uniform and modern approach to taxing our populous.
Reform must also include the way we construct state budgets. The current process is too secretive, not thorough and highly unproductive in allocating resources. Just one example of the inefficiency in our process was revealed in recent House budget discussions. Our university system has, over many years, developed 275 centers at the various campuses, now amounting to 0 million in annual funding from the continuation budget. Nobody ever asks whether we would prefer to fund these centers or raise college tuition, because they are never on anyone’s radar screen. We don’t require them to be examined. Zero based budgeting, more frequent and extensive performance audits, and better cash management would most certainly make government more effective and ensure we are funding our highest priorities.
The state should do what our families have to do in reviewing every expenditure, determining how important each is to us in the current circumstances. If we don’t take advantage of this opportunity now we will most certainly find ourselves back in this hole again or determine there is something really important we need to achieve but don’t have money to fund the project. It’s time for government to treat the state budget like we must treat our family budget. |
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