Although some Libertarians acknowledge that the current
administration has slowed the growth of state government
from a gallup to a trot, we must also acknowledge that the
Bredesen administration still trots down the same road to
serfdom as the last.
Personally, I thank the Governor for submitting a budget
with no new taxes. But, we ask, will he take this idea
forward as our own Heather Scott ( Libertarian Wilson County
Commissioner) has done by submitting a Taxpayer Bill of
Rights to the Legislature? We wait with bloated
anticipation.
In his speech, Governor Bredesen talked about many "business
like" ideas for funding various programs. Libertarians
understand that government governs best when it's in the
business of doing what it is designed to do ... defending
our rights, providing for things that volunteerism and the
free
market cannot provide for, and protecting our lives and
property from force or fraud. We understand that government
regulates it's income by rule of law and that it's expenses
are only limited by the dreams and ambitions of a political
class. Having said that, how is it that Tennessee State
Government proposes to know the dreams of countless millions
of Tennesseans Governor?
The first of the Governors dreams was that of education as
he stated:
" One thing is certain in Tennessee: We have always charted
our own course. I believe with all my heart that the wisest
course of all is to educate our children. But we have to
step up here. Everyone in public life is for education; I've
never met a candidate who was against education. The real
test comes when one is asked to step up and put resources
and political capital behind the rhetoric. I am confident
that ... together ... we are going to pass the test."
American political history proves that there has never been
a real shortage of resources or "political capital" when it
comes to the funding of public schools. However, it seems to
us that it has had a deficit of intellectual capital. For
instance, computers are thousands of times smaller, more
powerful, and less expensive than they were merely thirty
years ago. Furthermore, a disproportionate number of
children who were home schooled win National Spelling Bee
contests and recieve scholarships to nationally acclaimed
universities. We ask, where have the major advances been in
government run schools in the last thirty years? If history
proves anything, Libertarians believe that our children's
education is far too important to be left up to the
politicians.
He also outlined a new program to provide "seed money" to
help begin "The Imagination Library" ... a program began by
Ms. Dolly Parton to "...place books ... one book a month ...
in the hands of children from birth until they begin
school." Although we respect and applaud the energy,
kindness, and efforts of Ms. Parton, we just didn't know
that many children were reading at birth.
The second of Governor Bredesen's dreams was that of
economic development when he said:
" We are proposing that $8 million of this year's surplus be
added to the TIIPS fund for infrastrucure investment; that
$11 million be allocated to job training, primarily for two
specific industrial projects with Nissan and Toyota; and for
$10 million to support the truly visionary biotech
initiative in Memphis."
A faster trot down the same road ... throughout the last
decade, Tennessee was one of America's largest offenders of
corporate welfare spending ... an average of $1.5 billion a
year. It appears, the buck will not stop here. We ask, why
should a lady buying a loaf of bread in Knoxville be forced
to add to the financial ark of multi-billion dollar
corporate giants? Furthermore, if the Memphis biotech
initiative is "truly visionary" we are comforted by the fact
that they will surely find mountains of investment capital
in the free market. Show me the money.
The third on a laundry list of dreams was one of the
environment as Governor Bredesen stated:
" For me, one of last year's most personally painful cuts
was in the land acquisition fund. While I was not able this
year to fully restore these funds, I am proposing to
allocate $10 million of this year's surplus as a one-time
contribution to begin making that fund whole once again."
As private citizens, both Governor Bredesen and Lamar
Alexander have done a terrific job in preserving open spaces
by the creation of The Land Trust ... which purchased land
for conservation through private and corporate donations. We
ask, why turn over that success to government which has such
a horrible track record of environmental protection? In case
after case, where government officials have been responsible
for environmental damages, they have never been prosecuted
because they are deemed to have sovereign immunity by the
courts. Why not leave such lands in the hands of private
citizens who can both be held responsible and have a vested
interest in land they own?
At the end of his speech, the Governor lamented on the idea
that we should focus on the things that we can change as he
said:
" When finances are tight ... and they certainly continue to
be ... it is all too human to fall into the trap of
lamenting all the things we can't do, rather that focusing
on those things that are within our power to change. As we
forge ahead, we need to keep our balance. Good times
shouldn't make us careless. Tough times shouldn't make us
afraid."
Governor, rhetoric aside, we believe that you have one of
the greatest resources at your disposal that any politician
in Tennessee could dream of ... the power of the pulpit.
With that command, one could rail to the media about the
shame of a legislature that simply refuses any attempt to
open the doors of government for public interests that
merely ask it to record it's own votes and have a real
Sunshine Law with teeth. One could speak out for even a
minor change in
the drug laws to support "the least of these" ... tens of
thousands of Tennesseans who now suffer needlessly with
wasting diseases such as cancer, AIDS, and an overdose of
government. One could call for an end to federal mandates,
or a more open elections system for all, or almost anything.
At long last, Governor, we believe someone in such a
position would be in the position to provide our fellow
citizens with a greater ability to live their lives in
freedom.
| 
