Weekly Opinion Editorial
LAMB’S MOVE TOOK COURAGE!
by Steve Fair
Last week, Lt. Governor Todd Lamb resigned
from Governor Mary Fallin’s cabinet, where he served as the Small Business
Advocate. Lamb will still be Oklahoma’s
Lt. Governor. The cabinet position and
the Lt. Governor’s job are separate.
Lamb said he couldn’t support Fallin’s plan to increase taxes on services
that are currently not subject to state taxes.
Fallin plans to start taxing plumbing, barbers and attorneys and 160
more services.
Lamb said: “Governor Fallin deserves to have someone in her cabinet who can
be a strong advocate for her agenda, and that is something I am unwilling to
do. While I respect the determination with which Governor Fallin met her
obligation to present a balanced budget to the legislature, I cannot support
her proposed tax increases. This proposal will adversely harm Oklahoma’s
small businesses and families, especially those in our service industry.
While Governor Fallin and I have disagreed on issues from time-to-time,
our differences on this important topic are so significant they preclude me
from continuing to serve on her cabinet.”
Fallin responded by issuing the following
statement: “I was disappointed
and surprised to learn from a press release that Lt. Gov. Lamb had decided to
quit serving as a member of my Cabinet. I
have always valued Todd’s independent voice. I valued it when we first came
into office when we dealt with a similar financial crisis and I value his
independent voice today. I’ve never been afraid to have dissenting voices at
the table. I think the people of Oklahoma benefit from that. There will always
be a seat at the table for his independent voice. Leading a state is
never easy, especially when there are so many challenges and we are faced with
a prolonged economic downturn. But through ideas, hard work, long hours and
making tough decisions, we can find solutions to those challenges our state
faces. We have to. As governor, I have provided a reality check of doing
the same thing over and over with the structural deficits of our budget and
expecting a different outcome. If we want to educate our children, a teacher
pay raise and ensure the health and public safety of our citizens as well as
improve our roads and bridges, we must fix the structure of our budget so we
don’t keep having budget shortfalls and uncertainty.” Word is that Fallin’s
Chief of Staff met with Lamb’s Chief of Staff before the press release and told
him Lamb was resigning from the cabinet, so evidently there is a communication
breakdown in the Guv’s office. Three
thoughts:
First, Lamb’s action took courage, a trait
rare for politicos. He could have simply
skipped the meetings, or sat quietly while Fallin pushed for more taxes. Resigning
the cabinet position took guts. Lamb is
the preemptive favorite to be the state’s next governor and no doubt he believes
staying quiet about Fallin’s tax plan wasn’t going to help his cause among primary
voters in two years. 2017 is going to be
a historically difficult budget year in state government and going along to get
along would have been the safe play.
Lamb proved he doesn’t always play it safe- he takes risk. The only leaders who ever make meaningful
change are risk takers. They lead when everyone else follows.
Second, legislators have been talking a
great deal about the revenue side of the ledger and not enough about the
expenses. It appears little effort has been made to
actually ‘find the waste’ in Oklahoma state government. Instead of trying to find ways to get more
taxpayer money, there should be a full blown blitz to find where cuts can be
made. Churchill famously said: “We contend that for a nation to try to tax
itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift
himself up by the handle.” Oklahoma
needs bold leadership, not the same old tax and spend strategy.
Third, the legislature should craft a long
term funding mechanism that takes the peaks and valleys out of the revenue
stream. Oklahoma state government has
been operating hand to chin too long. Texas
deposits 75% of their oil and gas tax revenue in their Rainy Day fund and only
appropriates 25%. Oklahoma government spends every dime of oil and gas production
tax every year.
By
quitting the cabinet, Lamb proved he is willing to be against increased
taxation. Now he just needs to outline
his plan to balance the budget.
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