Malloy, finally, realizes government’s too big

With the economy sinking and state tax revenue falling, Governor Malloy says state government may have to cut itself down to the essentials.

Of course it might have been nice if the governor had called for such a comprehensive review before imposing his massive tax increases of five years ago and this year. But nobody else called for such a review, and better late than never.

If the governor is serious, it could be revolutionary. For everyone financed by government considers himself essential, except maybe when a snowstorm presents the opportunity to leave work early with the notoriously “inessential” employees.

Speaking of the state budget this week, the governor said, “Connecticut can no longer afford to maintain every line item in perpetuity.”

Of course there are many line items that might be sacrificed without much consequence to the public: the pork in the bond package for the towns of legislators favored by the governor; the various commissions to patronize and pander to whiny minorities and special interests; liquor and cigarette price regulation; and so on.

But the big money to be saved isn’t in budget line items at all but in policies — like collective bargaining and binding arbitration for government employees, which take most government expense out of the ordinary democratic process; social promotion in education, which drives up school costs and creates huge social costs; drug criminalization; and welfare policy, which destroys the family and perpetuates poverty instead of reducing it.

At least the governor this week acknowledged that pensions for state employees and teachers are threatening to devour the rest of state government. To save money, the governor plans to propose separating the pension system for veteran employees from the system for newer ones and to finance them differently. But even so pension costs will remain huge and crowd out compelling public needs.

“We must pay for the mistakes of the past, and there is no easy way around it,” the governor said, as if the mistake with the pensions had just been discovered and there was nothing for him to notice since he took office five years ago.

But again, better late than never, and few others in state politics have acknowledged the pension problem, though the compelling question is why state and municipal government should continue to offer their employees costly defined-benefit plans instead of the defined-contribution plans private-sector employees have to settle for. The state’s economy being so weak, state and municipal government would have little trouble finding employees.

The stern review sought by the governor will be quickly opposed by tens of thousands, everyone whose livelihood is stake. To maintain the status quo they will devote to politics as much time as necessary. While the governor’s party, the Democratic Party, controls the General Assembly, it is the party of government for its own sake, so Democratic legislators are not likely to be receptive, less so since the governor’s popularity is lower than ever and he does not plan to seek another term.

As for the Republican minority in the legislature, what is their interest in giving the governor political cover in serious economizing and thereby joining him in making enemies? For the sake of good government? That will be the day.

The governor should have attempted this review when he was first elected and could have noted that he was cleaning up the mess left by his predecessors. Instead he repeatedly raised taxes to sustain the mess, and now that five years of that have only made things worse, it may be hard for him to find sympathy.