Randy Cowling, managing editor
Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010 — Platitudes are how people exchanging information that has no depth of meaning. There is no sincerity. No substance. No real understanding.
On Monday Gov. Brad Henry delivered his final State of the State Address as the legislative session opened. His speech was fille with plenty of platitudes and catchy cliches.
He called on everyone to work together to tackled the problems Oklahomans face today. Describing it as the “Oklahoma Way” Henry said officials would be able to build on the state’s successes to guide it through troubled times.
What he really meant was there is more than a $1 Billion shortfall in the state’s budget and the solution could be very painful no matter what party gets their way.
Adversity builds character and reveals it at the same time the governor said. Oklahomans are “tough and resilient” Henry announced.
He was quite emphatic that any budget cuts should not impact those who are less fortunate. So would that mean he wants to protect educators, child services and Insure Oklahoma from any serious budget cuts?
No one really knows what Henry wants, except being bond by the state constitution he must present a balanced budget. With a $1 Billion gap and half of that sitting in the state’s Rainy Day Fund it should be interesting to see who’s budget gets whack the most.
He does want lawmakers to increase the lid on the fund to 15 percent from its current 10 percent. Henry, who is in his last year of his final term, said the fund was totally bare when he took office back in 2003.
Back then the state had a $700 million budget shortage, but now the Rainy Day Fund has about $600 million in it.
One section in Henry’s speech should be remembered as citizens watch their elected officials wrangle over what is to be cut.
“We all will be asked to sacrifice. But we cannot balance the budget at the expense of the most vulnerable among us,” Henry said. “Certainly, more cuts are unavoidable. Agencies and programs, already hit hard by fiscal reality, will be asked to absorb further reductions. There will be an impact, and it will be painful.”
Of all Henry’s platitudes and cliches the lines about sacrifice and pain were the most realistic.
Any school administrator, city manager or county commissioner has seen the handwriting on the wall and it isn’t pretty. After tightening government budgets to the last eyelet on the belt, now it is very apparent that the next wrong of tightening will be with personnel. When there is a face connected to the reduction it is much more painful.
Legislators and the governor have been sitting on their hands since September when 5 percent cuts began being handed out to state agencies. They took a wait and see attitude, hoping for an economic miracle that will only come a year from now. They avoided calling a special session to address the economic situation and now the budget gap is more than $1 Billion.
Once the speechifying concluded, officials began to see some of Henry’s real suggestions — the ones behind the platitudes and cliches.
Henry is suggesting that a number of state agencies be consolidated. In other words devalued and folded into other agencies. He believes the consolidation would save taxpayers about $5.3 million, which is a drop in the bucket when you are looking at $1 Billion.
Rogers County’s Will Rogers Memorial Museum, J. M. Davis Gun Museum and the Iron Dog Iron Ranch be absorbed into the Oklahoma Historical Society.
When this type of merging of agencies occurs those proposing it say there will be a savings in administrative costs. What really happens is those agencies that are being moved under the auspices of another agency get the shaft.
They lose oversight of their affairs, budgets and staffing. We really don’t want some bureaucrat in Oklahoma City, who has no understanding or passion for Will Rogers legacy or the significance of the J. M. Davis Gun Museum, determining what is best for our historical sites.
Consolidation would also mean fewer dollars to divvy up between agencies, which also would create a combative atmosphere between agencies and the legislators who represent those locally-based agencies. We realize there is a need to find a way to close the $1 Billion budget shortfall, but is devaluing some of Oklahoma’s treasures really the right way to go?
Why not ask state lawmakers to take a 5 percent across the board cut? Why not mandate that all state employees that draw a salary of more than $100,000 take a 10 percent cut in pay? Governor and lawmakers take the challenge and accept a pay cut.
Sacrifice is only sacrifice when it is applied equally across the board. The pain is then shared by everyone and that really is the “Oklahoma Way.”
We work together, we sacrifice together and we get through the tough times together. Hopefully state lawmakers will realize this.
n Randy Cowling is managing editor of the Claremore Daily Progress.
