An Op-Ed as it appeared in the Hartofrd Courant on October 5, 2008

As our nation faces an unprecedented financial crisis that threatens to wipe out jobs, investments, businesses and retirement savings, Connecticut confronts its greatest budget deficit in recent history. Both the non-partisan Office of Fiscal Analysis and the Office of Policy and Management agree that the deficit for the fiscal year ending in June will be approximately $300 million and is likely to grow to more than $2 billion over the next two fiscal years.

At the same time, the wages of working families aren’t keeping up with expenses. The rising cost of healthcare, home heating fuel, gasoline, food and other services, coupled with our state’s high tax rates have created conditions that many are finding hard to weather. It is clear that government at all levels is faced with very difficult choices. 

We need to adjust our spending habits — now. To her credit, Gov. M. Jodi Rell has ordered two rounds of budget cuts of nearly $175 million, as well as a hiring freeze and travel ban.

Many Democratic lawmakers have called for using our Rainy Day Fund — our state’s savings account — to cover this year’s $300 million deficit. This would be a mistake. At $1.4 billion, there is not enough money in our Rainy Day Fund to offset the more than $2 billion in deficits projected over the next two years. In fact, raiding the rainy day fund this year virtually assures a tax increase in 2010 and 2011. It is akin to treating the symptoms, but not the disease.

The state budget is $1 billion short for 2010 — even before accounting for revenue loss from the Wall Street crisis — because Democratic leaders have repeatedly used one-time revenue and one-time surpluses to pay for ongoing programs. They believed the years of unprecedented economic expansion would go on forever. Now, those irresponsible choices have caught up with us. Using the Rainy Day Fund now is essentially repeating the same mistake. Instead, fiscal prudence is required.

Like Gov. Rell, I believe that it would be irresponsible not to cut expenses and simply wait for the bills to come in, knowing we will have to deplete our savings to pay those bills. The Rainy Day Fund should be tapped when you have done everything you can to manage your budget, but have simply miscalculated, or to handle unforeseen circumstances. It is not meant to be used to postpone making tough, but responsible decisions.

By acting early in the fiscal year, Gov. Rell demonstrated real leadership that allows savings to be spread across the year, thereby maximizing our savings and softening the effect of cuts. Now is the time for our legislature to demonstrate the same leadership. We simply cannot, as Democratic leaders have suggested, wait until next year to address the deficit. If we wait our problems will only get worse and the solutions more difficult.

Moreover, the Democratic proposal to audit the state Department of Social Services, while well intentioned, falls terribly short as an attempt to address the growing financial crisis and budget deficit. The comptroller’s office has no demonstrated ability to conduct such an audit and her plan to outsource the job will cost the state money it does not have.

I am not opposed to auditing DSS in a responsible way. I have long led efforts, against Democratic opposition, to create an Office of Inspector General and hold state agencies more accountable for their spending. But, anyone who thinks we are going to audit our way out of this financial crisis is either incredibly naive or deliberately trying to deceive the voters.

Fundamentally, there are two ways to address a budget deficit: reduce spending or raise taxes. I believe, as does Gov. Rell, that in this economy we cannot add to the financial burdens facing individuals, families, businesses and seniors living on fixed incomes. Our goal must be to do everything we can to balance this budget without raising taxes.

Making cuts is never a welcome or easy process — any more than it is for Connecticut families to make difficult choices about food purchases, energy costs, medical expenses or other savings. This legislature needs to work with Gov. Rell to identify areas where we can reduce expenses without jeopardizing public safety or essential human services.

These are challenging times for our state and our nation. But with the patience, ingenuity and hard work of our state policymakers, the key work of government will continue and we will get by, just like families across our state.

State Sen. John McKinney, R-Fairfield, is the minority leader of the Connecticut Senate.