The governor has stuffed his state budget with policies that are good, but simply don't belong in the budget. I think the we should have domestic partner benefits, Regional Transit Authorities, and a state-wide smoking ban, but these are things you put in the budget, especially during a recession.
I know why the governor is doing this. He's worried that these good policies won't pass the legislature, even though his party controls both houses. And he might be right. I think a lot of legislators don't have the political balls to stand up for what they know is right. But I'm a stickler for the democratic process, and believe that policy without any fiscal elements don't belong in budgets.
Eventually all of these things will become the status quo. Let's not destroy the democratic process and the separation of powers to expedite policy, even if it's the right policy.
No comments:
Post a Comment