In early
January, I mentioned the epidemic of writer’s block
occurring prior to the legislative machinery kicking
out intriguing news stories. By the middle of the
session there is news everywhere, so the difficulty
for reporters is separating the big story of the
week from the chaff. Tuesday morning was the first
of two days scheduled for floor discussions of
Montana’s big spending bill, HB2, and the House
chamber was packed with television cameras,
microphones and journalists poised to record
history. Typically, this is the biggest news day of
the session, but this year it flopped.
This was my fourth go-round with HB2 and typically,
legislators are quick to the microphone with lots of
posturing and vocalizing, but very little
production. Imagine being trapped in a room with a
bunch of Tom cats trying to pass bladder stones and
you will have the proper picture. (Those of you
unfamiliar with Tom cat behavior should substitute
“water belly steer” for a similar analogy.) I dread
this part of my job. Normally, each one of HB2’s
five sections is brought individually before the
entire chamber for discussion with the Democrats
offering endless amendments increasing spending. The
limit where they no longer feel charitable giving
away your money, simply has never been reached, so
it may not actually exist. With tears and quivering
voices they passionately offer sacrifice after
sacrifice which costs them nothing. Because of rule
61-39, (61 Republicans, 39 Democrats), they are
rarely successful.
Conversely, Republicans come prepared with dozens of
amendments trimming the budget. They are not as good
at posturing as the Democrats, so their floor
speeches are factual and flat. For the GOP to ever
be competitive on budget day, we need a Republican
accountant who can cry like Sally Struthers while
explaining tax impacts on the economy using the
velocity change formula. We are not quite there, our
delivery still needs polishing.
Dreading two action-packed days filled with
emptiness, I trudged into the capitol for an early
morning Republican caucus. I had packed a double
lunch the night before because the only thing worse
than suffering through a full day of meaningless
posturing, was doing so while hungry. Word swept
through the room a deal had been cut with the
Democrats. If Republicans did not offer any
amendments, neither would they and suddenly our
two-day marathon might be finished in an hour. The
gavel pounded launching a tirade of warm and fuzzy
floor speeches with both parties praising each other
for their bipartisan efforts. It stretched into a
nauseating 80 minutes.
Here is the scoop on HB2: In the form it left the
House, HB2 spends about 1.2 percent more for the
upcoming biennium than the last one. I would have
preferred actual cuts, but such was impossible with
this legislature and this governor. Because this
first House vote is mostly procedural, the vote was
unanimous, so HB2 now moves to the Senate. When it
comes back from the Senate is when the true and
final fight begins, but we all seem to be ignoring
the two elephants in the living room. First,
Montana’s pension system is $4 billion out of
balance and is not addressed in HB2. Second, our
federal government is broke, yet 44 percent of our
budget is federal funds. There is a reckoning coming
and I no longer think we have the self-discipline to
avoid it. When our economy collapses under the
weight of federal debt and failing pensions, every
American will scream like a Tom cat passing a
urinary stone, but apparently it will take a
complete crash for us to begin the path to
restoration.
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