K-Mushy

The Commercial Appeal's David Kushma is bravely going where everyone else has already been, carefully following the worn paths of others, again.

In his latest, he essays to explain how the sales tax increase isn't really going to help higher education. Lest you think he's making another income tax plea, he even says:

Relax; this isn't another pitch for a state income tax. That issue is
dead, probably for at least another few years, although we
certainly haven't heard the last of it.

Well, Dave, that means it's NOT DEAD YET! No one seriously thinks the income tax issue is gone. It will come back, and most likely before four years have passed. The shadowy men--bankers, financiers and the ultra-wealthy--would like it too much.

Unfortunately, Kushma manages to let the facts trip him up. He points out:

Yet state colleges and universities
have hiked most tuition rates by at least 7.5 percent - and some
by as much as 28 percent - for the new school year.

That's far less than the double-digit increases of the past several
years, to be sure. But it's more than the rate of inflation, and
enough to bring renewed discomfort to students and their
parents - and perhaps to cause some to consider higher
education in another state.

Not California, which hiked tuition 15% this year, or many surrounding states which will also have double-digit increases, something that the CA rarely bothers to mention.

The new budget offers a slight increase in state aid to colleges
and universities....

And even after a tax increase of nearly $1 billion, which also
includes (too) small hikes in "sin" levies on tobacco products and
alcoholic beverages and in some business taxes, parts of the
budget still will be under-funded. Higher education is Exhibit A....

Which is it, Dave?


Although we've dodged an income tax, we haven't solved the
state's budget problems. They'll be back, sooner or later. In fact,
they really haven't gone away.

Now wait a minute, Dave. Sundquist/Naifeh/Rochelle/et al's income tax was supposed to raise around $1.1 billion. But the $1 billion dollar's raised by the sales tax increase isn't enough? The largest tax increase in Tennessee history? Obviously, then, you're saying that the income tax would've been raised the year after it was enacted, no?

As you can see, it's a mish-mush that contradicts itself. Kushma also plugs the usual CA gripes about the "fairness" of the tax load (never bothering to note that the income tax would shift the burden from nearly 100% of Tennesseans to roughly 40%) and how inflexible the sales tax is (even thought it raised more money, again, this year than last, even with the recession).

Kushma follows Susan Adler Thorp's lead in taking a swipe at Senator Person's inquiry into State accounts:

That doesn't mean falling for talk radio/Internet fantasies
such as the state's alleged $4.74 billion secret surplus. It does
mean looking more closely at what we're spending and what
we're getting in return.

No one's said they're "secret." Nor are they fantasies. The State's CAFR clearly points them out.

But he does score a bull's eye. Kushma notes:

For all the huffing and puffing over this year's budget, lawmakers
again avoided examining some of their, and lobbyists', most
cherished spending priorities.

Highway construction, for example. Why is it unthinkable that
State Police patrols - which by definition occur largely on
highways - should be funded out of driver license fees and
gasoline tax revenues rather than the general fund? Evidently
because the folks who pour concrete say so.

In fact, this idea was proposed and promptly shut down. TDOT Commissioner Bruce Saltsman told the legislators that he wasn't going to give up any of his money! Nor would he "allow" the Legislature to shift one penny of the gas tax to that the General Fund. Kushma actually hits the mark, but it's a shame he hasn't gotten his people to actually look into the issue. The CA has studiously avoided anything resembling investigations of roadbuilders and developers, much less the cloistered abbey that is TDOT, for years.

The CA would do well to follow the example they set several years ago when they ran a series of articles breaking down the City's budget and explaining it to readers. We at Half-Bakered encourage them to do the same for the State's budget, letting readers see for themselves what's really going on. We dare them.

Until next time, that is all.