2021 S.D. Legislature: How much is enough?

Last week I reported that the Joint Committee on Appropriations would hear from several agencies ranging from water contamination to oversight of our universities. Since that time, we have also heard the Governor’s Budget Address as well as new spending requests from those various agencies.  

Nothing over the past week has come as much of a surprise. The plans will spend our children into eternal debt and we heard wish lists from every corner of the state.  fter all, isn’t that what politicians do in election years?  Sadly, the key consideration missing from each of these discussions is “long-term policy planning”.

When you place people in positions of authority there is an implied expectation that they will recognize the trust placed in them. That ‘trust’ contemplates a mature thought process, which should incorporate a ‘big picture’ perspective, not just a goal of getting ‘all I can while I can.’ Unfortunately, there are few who will carry out that duty.  

So, now we hear that because the Governor promises a large pay increase for everyone, therefore the tuition rates will go up, therefore the Board of Regents wants the Legislature to repeal the requirement that the Universities keep their tuition and expenses at a level to be self-supporting, which would result in higher expenditures, which would result in higher state support of those institutions, which results in increased taxes to fuel the appetite for general fund revenue, and on and on. So, you see, the J.D. Rockefeller truism proven once again: “How much is enough? Just a little bit more.”

The Governor’s Budget Address this past week drew the same response from both Republicans and Democrats. The comments made from both sides of the aisle were quite similar: “For someone who is a Trump supporter, that sure sounded like a Biden speech.”

Our country is in perilous times when it comes to international dependency and specifically our dependency upon China to support our national debt. The tipping point of debt per capita for smaller countries would have already happened. The United States had an opportunity to restrain spending and allow a strong economy to catch up with and reduce the national debt. Presently, that opportunity seems to be further in the rearview mirror and possibly beyond our grasp.  

Having traveled to China, meeting their communist leaders, and understanding the communist perspective and agenda, it is imperative that we wake up from this spending spree and ‘do the right thing’. Over and over again, in response to my concern that we are spending money that doesn’t exist and financially enslaving our children and grandchildren, I have heard the refrain, “Well, everyone else is doing it.” My reply is the typical parent’s statement that “Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean that you should.” When those principles are disregarded, that tells me that the principles of governing with integrity and fiscal responsibility are no longer expected nor applied.

There is a need for serious change at all levels of government, and for the citizens to recognize that there are limits to spending as well as government involvement in our lives. The path our founders carved out was intended to survive generations of change, and it has until the past few decades. Now is a time to “Do the right thing”.

As I said last week, I call upon all voters to be well informed as to those who will ask to serve as your elected leaders. Ask them the hard questions about whether they truly understand policy planning for the various agencies, whether they support limited government and what that looks like, and whether they intend to strike that appropriate balance between the Legislature and the Governor’s office.  

As always, feel free to contact me (steven.haugaard@sdlegislature.gov) with questions or comments. You can also go to www.sdlegislature.gov to listen in on the meetings or to see what else is happening in state government.