How much ‘sound fiscal management’ can state afford?

It’s always sad when someone lowers himself to fantasy and falsehood in a political attack. But such was the case with my good friend and colleague, Rep. Robert Duplessie in his Bangor Daily News commentary of Feb. 22.

His diatribe was titled, quite absurdly, “Sound fiscal management.” It was ostensibly an attempt to glorify the economic “accomplishments” of Gov. Baldacci and the Democratically controlled Legislature. Any such accomplishments, of course, are rather dubious. In just the past year, Maine suffered a net loss of jobs, increased taxes and fees dramatically, and saw a citizens’ revolt against a state budget “borrowing package” of $450 million. Meanwhile, all three major bond-rating houses downgraded our credit rating.

That’s a tough record to defend – especially as “sound” fiscal management. But Rep. Duplessie plunged right in with some comments about Baldacci’s “smart investments in people, innovation and small businesses.” Then he turned his guns on his real targets, Republican Reps. David Trahan and Jon McKane.

These two diligent legislators had the nerve to expose the truth about the dismal economic situation created by the governor and his legislative allies. Their “Fleecing of Maine” series of articles, which ran in weekly newspapers all over the state, was a big hit. Using financial data from the Legislature’s non-partisan Office of Fiscal and Program Review, they chronicled Maine’s out-of-control spending and the punishing result – the highest tax burden in America.

Unable to refute the facts in the “Fleecing” articles, Rep. Duplessie lashed out personally at Reps. Trahan and McKane. He accused them of “concocting misleading numbers and slick catch phrases” in their writings – knowing full well that their data was beyond reproach.

He went on to charge that they put the Dirigo health program “at the top of their hit list” The truth is that the “Fleecing” series never even mentioned Dirigo. And here was a zinger: “It puzzles me why Reps. Trahan and McKane would not want to fight to have working people keep their insurance.” As assistant majority leader, Rep. Duplessie is well aware that Democrats have consistently rejected Republican legislation to lower the cost of health insurance for everyone by enacting the common-sense reforms used in most other states. And in any case, Reps. Trahan and McKane never touched on Maine’s insurance debacle in their articles. The budget follies of the ruling party provided ample ammunition for their series.

For pure fantasy, it’s hard to top this gem: “Trahan and McKane laud the McKernan and King administrations for their fiscal conservatism.” Yet nowhere in the “Fleecing” stories was there a single mention of these two former governors or their policies. Time and again, the author sets up a straw man of flimsy falsehoods and proceeds to demolish it with a blowtorch, hoping nobody would notice his deception. I believe his tactics reveal the Democrats’ desperation.

Hitting his stride, Rep. Duplessie wrapped up his polemic with this limp platitude: “Your leaders in Augusta have their priorities straight, and are working to protect consumers, workers, small businesses and families to build strong communities and opportunities for our future.”

If Rep. Duplessie is such a guardian of small business – Maine’s economic backbone – why then did he register the astonishingly low score of 12 (out of 100) in the latest voting analysis by the non-partisan Maine Economic Research Institute? (Rep. McKane scored 97.5 and Rep. Trahan scored 88.5.)

If Rep. Duplessie and Democrats care so much about workers and families, why have they freely participated in policies that have crippled our health insurance market, killed jobs through oppressive regulation and spent us deeply into debt? What kind of “opportunity” does that create for our kids?

I found it odd that Rep. Duplessie failed to mention a few other examples of the “sound fiscal management” exemplified by his ruling Democrats. For instance, how could he neglect the $3 billion unfunded liability in the Maine State Retirement System? We were on track to pay off that debt by 2018, but the governor decided to stretch out the repayment to 2028.

That allowed him to pay less each year, to help balance the budget. But the lengthened schedule adds $2.5 billion to the total tab, turning a $3 billion debt into a $7.9 billion debt. Our grandchildren will still be paying this thing off when today’s Democrats are only a memory.

The hospital debt is another example of fine fiscal stewardship. Maine and the federal government owe some $350 million to hospitals all over the state for treating Medicaid patients. The debt goes back several years.

While such an enormous debt is evidence that we cannot afford the massive number of people already on Medicaid, the Baldacci administration has merrily added more than 80,000 people to the rolls. How “sound” was that? In pandering to their political base, the Democrats have put 20 percent of Mainers on this program for free medical care – the highest percentage in the nation. Then they decided that they simply wouldn’t pay for them. The hospitals cover this huge loss by shifting the cost to insured patients, driving up the price of health care and insurance for employers and working families.

How much more of this “sound” fiscal management can Maine afford?

Rep. Josh Tardy is assistant leader of the House Republicans