EDITORIALS : Put It on Our Tab
Posted on Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Asa Hutchinson and
Mike Beebe are no
doubt the envy of many Arkansas gubernatorial candidates who’ve come before them. Sure, the state still has problems, as it always has — problems a new governor will have to roll up his sleeves and address. But we also have a $ 721 million budget surplus. That’s allowed both candidates to make spending promises — many aimed at correcting those problems — without going into too much detail about where the money’s going to come from.
We all know — and Hutchinson and Beebe know we know — where the money’s going to come from. The state has $ 721 million in the bank. Whoever’s elected in the fall will team with our spendthrift Legislature to divvy up the surplus, thus making many campaign promises — and heaven knows what else — reality.
It’s a candidate’s dream. The would-be governors are free to cook up all manner of programs and improvements, knowing the money is there to pay for most, if not all, of what they promise. Granted, some of those pledges do have price tags attached to them. But many others are simply hanging out there, words without numbers behind them.
Listening to Hutchinson and Beebe talk about how they want to improve Arkansas calls to mind a Bill Gates or Warren Buffet ordering dinner in an expensive restaurant. Guys like that order whatever they like, without worrying what the bill will look like. It doesn’t matter how much the meal costs — they’ve got it covered.
The problem is, Arkansas is not the governmental equivalent of a Gates or a Buffet. Our wealth has limits and could easily be fleeting. We’re bucksup now, but our fortunes could change. Eventually, they will change.
We’re not a rich man with a bottomless bank account. We’re more like an average, middle-class person who’s had a run of good luck. If we see it that way, and husband our resources wisely, we can make our lives better for years to come. If we act as though we’re rich and throw money around like a high roller, we’ll soon wind up back where we started — with our pockets turned inside out and our brows furrowed.
We should expect these men who want to be governor to understand that and to campaign accordingly. That means being interested enough in what their promises cost to put a dollar figure on them, even if they do know for certain the state can easily foot the bill.
We know these candidates are trying hard to win a hotly contested race, and they believe that promising the right thing — or enough right things — could swing the balance in their favor. That’s politics. But we’d like to see them adopt a more responsible approach.
That might not be easy or, from a political standpoint, practical. It might slow the promising down a bit. But it would reflect a better understanding of our situation and a better philosophical approach to handling financial resources.
The candidates and their handlers might worry that such an approach could cost them votes. But most Arkansans have never seen a menu without prices, much less ordered from one. They’ll understand.
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