Governors Against State Bailouts

While Governor Rendell and others state executives are asking for taxpayers to bail them out (see related article in The Bulletin) but want to pass the buck to federal lawmakers for their fiscal mismanagement, other governors – those that have not been so spendthrift – are demanding Congress give them nothing for Christmas. In the Wall Street Journal, governors Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Rick Perry of Texas write:

In Texas and South Carolina, we’ve focused on improving “soil conditions” for businesses by cutting taxes, reforming our legal system and our workers’ compensation system. We’d humbly suggest that Congress take a page from those playbooks by focusing on targeted tax relief paid for by cutting spending, not by borrowing.

In the rush to do “something” to help, federal leaders would be wise to take a line from the Hippocratic Oath, and pledge to do no (more) harm to our country’s finances. We can weather this storm if we commit to fiscal prudence and hold true to the values of individual freedom and responsibility that made our nation great.