Legislature Handed Historic Budget Opportunity
The Knoxville News Sentinel says the Legislature is on the verge of passing a state budget that represents a "significant and potentially long-ranging recalibration of the spending patterns of state government."

"It takes this type of circumstance to do what they're doing," said Sen. Jim Kyle, D-Memphis. "It puts members in a position of voting for this or voting to raise taxes. It's a chain, and if any link is broken, we're out of balance. Only with that pressure could they do some of these things." Kyle pointed to previous efforts during the last three difficult budget years to take state shared taxes and road money. The efforts failed, and the Legislature finally increased taxes by $933 million last summer.

"Many of the trial balloons that have popped over the last three years are going to be in there," he said. "The administration is wise to put them all in one vote. If you don't vote for this, you'd better be ready to raise taxes, and the General Assembly has promised not to increase taxes."

Rep. Randy Rinks, D-Savannah put it another way. "What other choice is there? You see another bill like that anywhere? We've been talking about this for three years. It's not like we didn't know it could mean a property tax increase. Everybody said, 'Cut the budget.' Well, this is what it looks like when you cut the budget. There's pain everywhere, but there's really not a lot of alternatives."

During last year's fight over an income tax, the House Finance Committee laboriously put together a no-new-taxes budget called DOGS, for Downsizing Ongoing Government Services. The similarities between that effort and what Bredesen is proposing have not escaped the notice of legislators. "But last year the administration fought it tooth and toenail," Rinks said. "This year they're saying it can be managed. It makes a difference."

Sounds good to me.