Trickle Down Goofy Voodoo Economics? What??

Dear Governor Beebe, the people of Arkansas would like you to know that we are not buying your political jabber jawing about budget cuts. To say there is no room to improve our fiscal situation is counter to our core beliefs and flies in the face of truth, according to numerous newspaper headlines we have read over the last year.

In a speech this past weekend you said to the Democratic Party of Arkansas Executive Committee:

“We are in the midst right now of discussion and negotiations and threats and counter threats about actions that people want to take primarily on the Republican side of the ledger that potentially impact our ability to deliver essential services or keep this budget balanced like we are talking about,” (read about balanced budget)

Your definition of essential services evidently differs from most Arkansans in that, we would not define essential services as $400,000 spent by just eight of our legislators last year alone on travel and expenses? 

Or the 658 vehicles at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission for only 613 employees. 

Nor the bloated $324,000 a year salary we pay to the Lottery Director,  Ernie Passailaigue, whose base pay should be $141,603 a year, but the Lottery Commission has been paying him $324,000 a year thanks to an optional multiplier included in the state’s lottery law, which CONSEQUENTLY, according to a statement from Attorney General Dustin McDaniel on February 7th, Arkansas law “expressly prohibits."  

Pretty sure not many Arkansans you would find that your  $5,000,000 private jet and pilot are an essential service . Being one of the poorest states in the union not many have a private jet at home.

In 70 of our 75 counties median household incomes dropped 6.9% from 2000 to 2009 according to the U.S. Census Bureau and you, Governor are telling us you can't cut your budget?

I would say the math is not the problem, but your definition of “essential”.

PAGING SENATOR DAVID JOHNSON~WHERE ARE YOU?

(This was originally posted to the American Majority Blog page)

Kudos to Senator David Johnson (D, Little Rock) who received ZERO dollars in per diem, mileage and expense money for 2010, according to an admirable enterprise story by Michael Wickline in Sunday’s Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Going back to 2009, during a regular session as is 2011’s session, Mr. Johnson received only $1081.

I recognize Mr. Johnson is at an advantage over the majority of Arkansas legislators because he lives in Little Rock. Yet so does Senator Joyce Elliott who in 2010 received $25,979 in expenses along with Representatives Greenberg ($31,826), Allen ($31,332), Webb ($29,754), Adcock($28,2 00), D. Williams ($27,976), J. Edwards ($26,500) and A. Kerr($24,600). These 8 legislators alone were reimbursed tens of thousands of dollars, all in addition to their regular salaries of $15,869.

The closest example to Mr. Johnson’s fiscal restraint in 2009 was Representative James Word, (D-Pine Bluff) who received $24,600. And the totals soar from there, reaching a maximum collected of $60,092 by Senator Jimmy Jeffress (D,Crossett, appoximately 150 miles from the Capitol)…YES~I just wrote 60 thousand dollars in expenses reimbursements. This year, Sen. Jeffress cut back a bit after receiving some backlash over his steep expenses during 2009, and only collected $52,427.

We should give Rep. Nate Steel recognition, too, because in 2010 he only received $3,833, and he lives in Nashville, which is some 150 miles from the Capitol. Third runner-up for most fiscally responsible legislator is Rep. Steve Cole (D-Lockesburg) who rang in at $13,647 for 2010 (much less than his figure in 2009 of $35,468). Lockesburg is also right around 150 miles from the capitol.

Wonder why there is such a HUGE discrepancy in the amount of money reimbursed for basically the same travel? I understand that different legislators are on different committees and have different responsibilities but a $60,000.00 annual difference is a pretty big difference…

Wickline’s article points out that the first time an Arkansas legislator collected more than $50,000 in a single year was in 2007. Since then: In 2008 four lawmakers collected in excess of $50 thousand and in 2009 a whopping TWENTY legislators joined the crowd. The word obviously got around.

Those in the Top 20 during 2009 and what they collected from taxpayers for expenses (again, not including their salaries)

Sen. Jimmy Jeffress, D-Crossett $60,092
Rep. Bill Abernathy, D-Mena $56,592
Rep. Ray Kidd, D-Jonesboro $56,366
Rep. Mark Martin, R-Prairie Grove $56,290
Rep. Eddie Cooper, D-Melbourne $54,892
Rep. Buddy Lovell, D-Marked Tree $53,998
Sen. Gene Jeffress, D-Louann $53,949
Rep. Billy Gaskill, D-Paragould $53,524
Rep. Mike Patterson, D-Piggott $52,588
Rep. Monty Davenport, D-Yellville $52,047
Rep. Jon Woods, R-Springdale $51,949
Rep. Gregg Reep, D-Warren $51,898
Rep. Tommy Baker, D-Osceola $51,641
Rep. Curren Everett, D-Salem $51,492
Rep. George Overbey, D-Lamar $51,452
Rep. Nathan George, D-Dardanelle $50,860
Rep. Robert Moore, D-Arkansas City $50,603
Sen. Kim Hendren, R-Gravette $50,522
Sen. Steve Bryles, D-Blytheville $50,442
Rep. Allen Maxwell, D-Monticello $50,087

And then there were 8 lawmakers collecting over 50 thousand dollars in 2010:

Sen Laverty, D-Jasper $59,745
Rep. Kidd, D-Jonesboro $54,064
Sen. J Jeffress, D-Crossett $52,427
Rep. T. Baker, D-Osceola $52,199
Rep. Gaskill, D- Paragould $52,100
Rep. Patterson, D-Piggott $51,814
Rep. Woods, R- Springdale $51,467
Rep. Davenport, D-Yellville $51,186

Senator Laverty was the only one of the 2010 big expense collectors not to also reach the $50K mark in 2009, although he was just shy at $43,966.
These numbers are stunning to me, especially since I spent 2010 continuously traveling Arkansas from corner to corner and back again. Kerry Baldwin and I held 41 trainings, over a dozen events and a handful of speaking engagements from Texarkana to Mt. Home to Jonesboro and over to Fort Smith.

I traveled over 100 days and sometimes hit four cities encompassing 400 miles over a two-day period and never submitted a travel reimbursement voucher for more than $1000 in any single month.

It’s my understanding that legislators who live within 50 miles of the Capitol receive a flat fee” per diem of somewhere between $2,000 to $2,200, never having to even fill out an expense report. Those living more than 50 miles away receive $.51 per mile, round trip, and $149 a day per diem, with no expense report required.

As a business owner, I can’t turn those kinds of records into the IRS. Could you? I mean, can we talk some common sense here? And as a person who works for an organization that reimburses my proven travel expenses, I have to turn in a detailed expense report every two weeks with receipts attached. That’s if I expect to receive reimbursement. So someone tell me why should our public servants be any different?

Today (Jan 31, 2011), and not a moment too soon, Arkansas legislators introduced SB194. A bipartisan “Ethics Bill”. Please read this bill (it’s only 2 pages) and let me know if you think this will alleviate the obvious problem of paid officials continually soaking the taxpayers?

In 2010 $4.7 million was paid to 135 part-time legislators, most of whom have other vocations outside of their public service. I don’t think there’s a constituent in our state that would expect or want our law makers to absorb personal costs for officially tending to the affairs of our State. Yet I believe – and am convinced- that the sizes of these “expense” numbers as reported by Mr. Wickline are questionable.

I’d also encourage each of you to contact legislators in your area and make a habit of regularly submitting FOIA requests for their expense records. Show them you care and are watching our business as closely as any newspaper reporter. Itemized accountability has a way of curbing anyone’s desire to “inflate” numbers in the private or public sector.

I Don't Think They Get It~

I was surprised this morning to hear about Sen.Steve Harrelson's helicopter shenanigans, especially given the resounding message Arkansans sent in November screaming for fiscal restraint. How many elected officials were listening?  

Constituent patience is running lacquer-thin when it comes to political elitism and arrogance.  I was under the impression that point had been sent loud and clear. I am not sure the excuse: “I don’t drive in bad weather” will pass the litmus test of monetary moderation with voters. Yet this was the reason Sen. Sue Madison offered for summoning the Arkansas State Police on Monday to drive her from her home in Fayetteville to Little Rock for legislative events. Wonder how many of us normal folks from NWA made the journey in our own vehicles just fine.

The news story in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette this morning stated that the “State police troopers also drove three to five other lawmakers to Little Rock for part of their trips.”

Now I don’t know who these other lawmakers were (although I plan to find out). Nor do I know the whole story behind Sen. Harrelson’s and Sen. Madison’s state-sponsored travel. But what I do know is that the state of Arkansas has some serious spending problems.  And we really don’t have the so-called balanced budget the Governor constantly pontificates about, which is explained in the blog post: “Balanced Budget? NOT”. We also have the looming unfunded unemployment money borrowed from the feds that is well over $400million, by now, we must somehow repay.

It is incumbent on us to respectfully and consistently remind our elected leaders that they are public servants and, as such, need to be very prudent in the decisions they make to spend our money. As for me?  Well, I’m not inclined to spend it on privileged helicopter rides and personal chauffeurs. But, hey, that’s just me speaking~ again.