Solution exists for state’s budget woes

A stroke of the pen would return $2 billion to the General Fund to pay for schools, public services

I am so tired of reading the same line in the Journal: We have a lack of funds because of a drop in gas and oil prices. Yes, their has been a drop. But no, we don’t have a lack of funds. What we have is a lack of legislative will.

According to a recent presentation by State Auditor Tim Keller, scarcity is a myth. There is $4 billion sitting in departments’ and agencies’ bank accounts. That’s billions with a “B.”

And since he’s our auditor, I think Keller knows what he’s talking about.

Of that amount, $2 billion, he says, should stay in those accounts. But $2 billion should be returned to the General Fund.

This is money allotted to these departments and agencies for projects that either haven’t started yet or were never started.

But instead of returning that money to the General Fund to pay for things like health care, schools and public services, it sits doing absolutely nothing.

That’s $2 billion of taxpayers’ money, my money, your money.

Meanwhile, the New Mexico government cries, “Austerity” — and proceeds to cut department budgets.

So why hasn’t this money been returned? Because there is no law saying it has to be given back. This is where the Legislative comes in. In this next legislative session a bill can be put forward that requires a portion, if not all, of that $2 billion to be returned. And in the future it can require that departments and agencies whose projects do not occur within five years of funding should return that money to the General Fund. Deficit gone in the stroke of a pen. But is there enough will in the Legislature to do this? According to Keller, the answer is no.

Therefore, it is up to everyone reading this to call his and her state representative and senator and demand that such a bill be passed immediately. And then tell your relatives and friends to do the same thing.

Otherwise, we will be paying taxes on food while cutting funding for schools, police, libraries, highways, health care and lots of other services.

These are cuts that do not have to happen. The money is there. We have to demand that it goes back into the General Fund.

Call your legislator today. Don’t wait. It’s your money. And it’s just sitting there doing nothing. If you do nothing, it will continue to sit there.

So it’s up to you, to all of us. In this case, doing nothing has consequences.