There’s no denying this past election ushered in a new era of government both in Minnesota and in Washington, DC. Congress and the state legislature saw a huge influx of new faces, including many with little or no experience with government. The common mantra for this new wave seemed to be “fiscal responsibility” or… perhaps more to the point… “spending cuts.”
Now, as we are starting to see the idealism of the election playing out in the real world of policy, we are in danger of sacrificing the positive role that government can and should play in our communities. We’re making cuts now in the name of “saving money” without regard to the long-term return on the money we spend.
Three current targets of spending cuts clearly illustrate this “penny wise, pound foolish” mentality.
Children’s Healthcare
As Minnesota struggles to make sense of a $6.2 billion budget deficit, we obviously have to make cuts across the board. But the decisions we make about these cuts will have consequences.
In Minnesota, education has rightfully earned somewhat protected status when it comes to budget cuts. I would argue children’s health deserves a similar place in our list of priorities.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am PR manager for Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota in my non-blogging life, so I have particular interest in this topic. Still, I offer it as just one example of how we need to be careful about where we cut our government spending.
Many people are surprised to learn that more than 40 percent of Children’s revenue comes from Medicaid (vs. around 10 percent at adult hospitals). That means Medicaid cuts hurt children four times harder than adults.
When you think about it, investing in the health of a child yields an incredible return, in the form of healthy, working, taxpaying adults. Healthy kids are able to go to school, and they can give back to the community.
Last year the legislature cut $43 million from Children’s Hospitals. That’s on top of more than $76 million in Medicaid cuts between 2003 and 2009. As the legislature makes difficult decisions this year, we need to ask whether the long term costs are going to outweigh any short-term gain.
State Judicial System
Minnesota’s judicial system is also nearing a breaking point, if it isn’t already there. In the last few years funds have been cut to the point where the judiciary system is significantly short staffed. While cost cutters may applaud this as an example of shrinking government, it’s important to stop and think about what the impact is on Minnesotans.
The Minnesota court system handles 1.7 million cases each year. These are cases that are vitally important to businesses, families, vulnerable citizens, law enforcement, and public safety.
Like hospitals, the courts don’t have the option of turning people away, so when budgets are cut justice may not be altogether denied but it can be significantly delayed. Minnesotans are constitutionally guaranteed “fair and timely resolution” of cases. Yet many lawmakers, who claim to have the Constitution first and foremost in mind, are denying this basic right to their constituents.
Yes, the judicial system will have to learn to do more with fewer resources. In recent years they have undergone significant streamlining through the use of new technology. Still, at its heart, justice relies on a human element… and investing in a properly functioning judicial branch is crucial to helping us shape our society and protect our communities. The cost of a broken judicial system down the road will dwarf the cost savings some lawmakers are looking for today.
Planned Parenthood
On a national scale, the new guard in the House has so far stuck to their cost cutting mission, sometimes in surprisingly good ways (see the rejection of $450 million to build fighter engines – that the military didn’t want – at a GE plant in Speaker Boehner’s district).
But other decisions driven by the Tea Party cost cutting frenzy are troubling, and could prove extremely costly long term.
Last week the House voted to cut all federal funding from Planned Parenthood, the country’s largest provider of family planning and health services including birth control, cancer screening, pregnancy testing, and testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Yes, they also provide abortion services but federal funding is not used for these services.
While I don’t expect Planned Parenthood to actually lose all federal funding in a final budget, this act by the House is extremely short sighted. Eliminating important health services will inevitably lead to a major increase in serious and costly health issues down the road. Teen pregnancy, undiagnosed cancers, and HIV are just some of the extremely troubling and costly results that this budget cut would yield.
It’s easy to campaign on a platform of cutting spending, but when you need to actually legislate, and make decisions that are in the best interest of our state or our country, it gets considerably more difficult.
I know there are MANY other examples of ways the current budget cutting mania is yielding penny wise and pound foolish policy.
What are some of the examples that you think are important for lawmakers to reconsider… so we don’t sell out our futures for short-term political gain?
Brian is correct on all that he mentions about “penny wise, pound foolish. The short-sightedness of current conservative fiscal policy is incredible! We will truly pay in many ways for all that is cut from child health and education now. Studies in the past have shown that cuts in Head Start alone have cost us 10-fold later. The general welfare of our society is being sacrificed so that the richest among us might keep even more.