Fergus Cullen on John Lynch’s Budget Woes

By Jim on January 26th, 2008

Listening to Gov. John Lynch’s call for fiscal restraint in the face of a mounting state budget deficit makes me think of the fireman who is also an arsonist. Before we applaud Gov. Lynch as a fiscally responsible hero for sounding the alarm and standing ready with a bucket of water, we should consider evidence that he started the blaze in the first place.

Last year, Gov. Lynch proposed a state budget that increased general fund spending by 14 percent. Then his Democratic legislative majority tacked on more spending, bringing the budget increase to over 17 percent, or $475 million. Gov. Lynch signed this record-breaking budget into law and called it fiscally responsible.

Now, just six months into the new two-year budget, Gov. Lynch is forced to acknowledge that his budget could be off by as much as $50 million this year alone. He’s calling for state government to tighten its belt. The problem is that Gov. Lynch let the belt out a couple notches a year ago, enjoyed some good holiday meals, and only then made a New Year’s resolution about going on a diet. Where was his discipline a year ago, when he could have made a difference?

Gov. Lynch is trying to blame the growing budget deficit on the national economy instead of his bloated spending. Even if a downturn in the national economy is contributing to New Hampshire’s budget problems, it didn’t take an Alan Greenspan with magical economic forecasting powers to anticipate that this might happen.

A year ago, when Gov. Lynch was writing his budget, any New Hampshire resident with common sense could have told you about a slowdown in the housing market and higher energy prices. We all know friends or neighbors trying to sell a home, and we all pay about $3 a gallon to fill up the tank. Any of us could have predicted that state real estate transfer tax receipts, tourism revenues, and business taxes would be impacted.

The irony is that if Lynch had not gotten his wish for a Democratic legislature, he might have still been able to hide behind the “moderate” label as a Republican legislature would have forced him to reign in his spending. Since the Democrats took over, Lynch has allowed the far-left moonbats in his party to run wild and we’re now seeing the results of that.

Lynch has a lot to answer for this fall and I can’t wait to get into the voting booth and have my say about the direction he’s taken our state in. November can’t get here fast enough for me.