November 23, 2008
Union Leader
New Hampshire has recklessly spent beyond its means, and Gov. John Lynch’s new budget cuts confirmed that last week.
The governor said of his $53.6 million in spending cuts, “We are not cutting fat; instead we are making the tough decision to defer worthy programs — some new, some existing — until better times.”
Really? He ordered that all state vehicles stay parked at the office overnight unless a trip was essential, that publications be released online-only whenever possible, that overtime be granted only when necessary, that employees using state vehicles carpool, and that non-essential magazine subscriptions be canceled. Why weren’t these orders given when he took office four years ago? Is he really saying that the inefficient use of state vehicles and the buying of frivolous magazines are “worthy programs”?
The governor ordered a $25.4 million cut to the Health and Human Services budget. He finds that money by reducing welfare, nursing home, home health care and Medicare Part D payments. Those are many of the exact same cuts Lynch and legislative Democrats opposed, screaming bloody murder, when former HHS Commissioner John Stephen tried to make them.
The university system and community colleges agreed to return a total of $6.2 million — without increasing tuition. If they can come up with that kind of money by trimming expenses, why did they need it in the first place?
Gov. Lynch’s managerial experience shows in these cuts. He wisely reserves the state’s cash while making precision reductions in state spending. The obvious question is: Why didn’t he do this in the first place?
The answer to that question is found in Lynch’s decision to withhold the remaining $75 million in necessary budget cuts until next year. Put simply: he hates to make tough decisions. He made relatively easy cuts last week and saved the harder ones for the Legislature to deal with — a Legislature he knows won’t have the stomach for it.
Once again, Gov. Lynch puts off until tomorrow critical budgeting decisions that need to be made today. He showed last week that he is perfectly capable of effectively managing the state budget. Unfortunately (and perhaps disastrously), he really doesn’t want to.