Budget, Part 2
Jeff Alworth
There are big losers and small losers every biennium. The small losers are those who must get by (again) on less money--schools, social services, OHSU. The big losers are those who lose vital services, be it medicine, food, or a job.
Among the big losers are Oregonians as a whole: they deserved better from their leaders than another band-aid budget that neither addresses the problems (unreliability, inequity) in raising revenue nor makes priorities (tax cuts, cops?) about how they should be spent. Instead, the state's financial health runs a low-grade fever, laboring along as vital services worsen. Recall that last summer the legislature was planning to reconvene solely to discuss these thorny issues. But then the gay marriage debate erupted, derailing any hope of cooperation. We're left instead with a budget that looks a whole lot like the last one--belt tightening for us, dodging difficult questions for pols.
There's a serious cost to doing business this way, and forgive me the indulgence of using my own situation as an example. When we opt for the belt-tightening route, we not only put off hard decisions for later, but we make hidden, de facto decisions by our failure to act. For example, a decision has been made about whether we should fund research of child welfare practice: we will not. The decision wasn't made through careful planning about whether this research informs effective policy about how to treat victims of abuse and neglect--it was made by a bookkeeper at the Department of Human Services (DHS) who looked at the budget and decided they couldn't afford it. (Reasonably so--given that branch offices are already understaffed, it's hard to argue that research should be a priority.) And so the funding that pays for my job at PSU will end in July.
I happen to think that research is critical to effective casework--without it, how can we know which interventions and which services will be effective in treating victims of child abuse? But this wasn't a consideration DHS had the luxury to indulge in. They're in permanent fire-dousing mode, and research ain't a fire.
Hundreds of decisions like this are being made across the state. Schools will be looking at their budgets this year and making decisions: girls basketball or band? OHSU will have to decide whether it wants to fund research or buy new diagnostic equipment. Judges will have to decide which cases to dismiss before being tried because dockets are too full. Jails will have to decide which criminals to let out early. And on and on.
These decisions aren't incidental. They're central to the way Oregon does business. Oregonians may not see any of these little decisions get made, but they will see their results in the way the state functions. The low-grade fever makes everything worse, and at the same time sows the seeds for even darker prospects down the road. After all, how long can we expect underfunded, overworked, unsupported agencies to continue to provide adequate service on inadequate funding?
For me, it sucks more directly. We had just begun a five-year project in April to look into a practice caseworkers use as they work with families. Now the findings of that study, along with the jobs of a half dozen or so researchers here, appear to be kaput. Caseworkers will continue to do the best work they can, we'll find new jobs (I hope), and life will go on. But is it any way to run a state?
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Dec 8, '04
Perhaps you all saw the LA times opinion by David Baltimore about our failed science policies. It seems to speak to tie in to this discussion.
I think the US has increasingly lost sight of the future. I think witnessing the loss of true conservative values about saving and planning for the future is a clear indication of this. We are no longer interested in preparing for the future, providing a better place for our grandchildren, or any of that. We have lost the idea of work ethic. We have lost the idea of foresight.
Witness, also, our average credit card balance rising to around $9000 from $3000 15 years ago--also around a recession period and adjusted for inflation. (I tried to reference the Oregonian news focus of 11/28, but it's gone.)
We are not planners, we live beyond our means because the present is all we see anymore. So, it does not surprise me that our state budget follows this pattern. It nearly has to.
We will find the results of this in 15 years and I am mostly convinced that it will not be very pretty.
(I guess I must be feeling down today.)
Dec 8, '04
The big mystery that really opens the door to the anti-tax people is the question of why we now have less ability to meet our service needs (police, fire, prisons, child welfare, education, etc.) even though we're spending a greater percentage of our income in taxes. Some say union demands defining who can do what job and how many people are required for various projects are driving up costs, but I don't know whether that is true or not. I honestly would love to have an answer to that question and am not attempting to be provocative in asking it.
I am extremely dismayed by the apparent lack of concern for abused children and I think the reason people are getting away with underfunding it is that many of the public fear that the government could interfere in parent-child relationships that are not dangerous to the child, such as (and I don't want to open a can of worms here) spanking (not beating), homeschooling, etc. The fear, however irrational, prevents a lot of people who do care about children from pushing for government intervention in legitimately problematic situations.
Another big concern for me is the lack of funding for sports, art, theater and music. Sports are incredibly important for social and physical development. I have been amazed at the benefits my own two sons have gained from playing basketball, in terms of confidence and teamwork. And when I see what passes for art, theater and music these days I am saddened at how we have lost so much culture in this country. We do have many talented people, but so few of us appreciate their talent. That cultural ignorance ends up feeding into the corporate faux-entertainment culture. It is truly distressing.
I am fortunate to live in a school district (Woodburn) with a high percentage of minority students, so we benefit from greater federal support than many districts. I often wonder what it would be like for my children in another district, such as Portland, where a loss of students and special needs are wreaking havoc on school funding.
Dec 8, '04
The big mystery that really opens the door to the anti-tax people is the question of why we now have less ability to meet our service needs (police, fire, prisons, child welfare, education, etc.) even though we're spending a greater percentage of our income in taxes. Some say union demands defining who can do what job and how many people are required for various projects are driving up costs, but I don't know whether that is true or not. I honestly would love to have an answer to that question and am not attempting to be provocative in asking it.
I am extremely dismayed by the apparent lack of concern for abused children and I think the reason people are getting away with underfunding it is that many of the public fear that the government could interfere in parent-child relationships that are not dangerous to the child, such as (and I don't want to open a can of worms here) spanking (not beating), homeschooling, etc. The fear, however irrational, prevents a lot of people who do care about children from pushing for government intervention in legitimately problematic situations.
<h2>Another big concern for me is the lack of funding for sports, art, theater and music. Sports are incredibly important for social and physical development. I have been amazed at the benefits my own two sons have gained from playing basketball, in terms of confidence and teamwork. And whe</h2>