Post-election challenges loom

From The Beacon, November 2012

The 2012 election season has been long, packed with tension and reflecting the growing partisan divide that has given us gridlock in our nation’s capital. The good news is that voters will get the last say on Nov. 6. The bad news is that there will be no rest for the weary; immediately after all the ballots are counted, the truly hard work will begin.

The federal level, the government is standing on the edge of a fiscal cliff, and one move in the wrong direction could plunge our economy into a recession.

At the state level, Massachusetts is facing a transportation finance crisis that threatens to derail our economic competitiveness in the long run. And in the short term, this year’s state budget could be out of balance by $400 million or more unless tax collections rebound from the disappointing trend seen over the past several months, which means that next year’s state budget could be unexpectedly tight and painful to balance.

Unfortunately, election seasons tend to reduce complex issues into overly simple sound bites (or bytes, if you are reading online), with each side offering solutions that are inadequate or address only a part of the problem, designed to sound good and alienate as few voters as possible. The reality is that the problems that confront us are larger and more difficult to solve than the campaign versions tell us.

Further complicating matters is the need for swift action.

On Capitol Hill, members of Congress and the president will need to strike a deal during November and December, in a lame duck session, to prevent massive, automatic, across-the-board cuts in domestic and military spending in January. Further, a sharply divided Washington will need to find some way to increase federal tax revenues as part of the permanent solution, because the vast majority of experts and economists agree that simply cutting federal spending to reduce the deficit will trigger a double-dip recession that will hurt families and businesses in every part of America.

Here at home there has been virtually no discussion of the transportation finance crisis on the campaign trail, and there has been even less discussion of the deep structural mismatch in the state budget, and the need to boost state revenues to prevent further cuts in state programs.

The post-election pivot will be jarring to millions of taxpayers, who haven’t been hearing enough about the reality: our roads, bridges, and regional bus and transit systems are crumbling, and we face a $20 billion shortfall over the next 20 years just to maintain our system in its current condition; and state health and human service demands are devouring almost all of our new state tax revenues and are consuming more and more of state spending, which is squeezing out vital priorities such as local aid and education.

Local leaders are in a position to know much more about all of these issues than the general public, so as state and federal leaders attempt to close the awareness gap, municipal officials can expect to be drawn into the discussion. And that is a good thing.

Since the 1990s, the federal and state governments have increasingly acted in a top-down, command-and-control fashion, undermining the system of federalism that has worked for more than two centuries. As originally envisioned by our nation’s founders, our federal, state and local governments are supposed to work together as partners, dividing resources and responsibilities to deliver programs and policies that address the greater good.

Unfortunately, the centralization of power by the federal government has been followed by a centralization of power by state governments. Communities are at the bottom of the food chain, and thus have been subjected to unfunded mandates, preemption of local authority, and a gradual loss of power to raise revenue and develop locally grown solutions.

Now federal and state leaders are facing huge problems that must be resolved in a balanced and sustainable fashion. Cities and towns can help make this happen by joining in the conversation and partnering with national and state officials to educate citizens and shape solutions. Local leaders can help local residents understand that these issues do impact our daily lives and our future, and they must be resolved now in order to grow our economy, build a better quality of life, and ensure that America will remain a force for good in the world.

There are many reasons for mayors, selectmen, councillors, managers, finance committee members, and all other municipal leaders to jump in, but three come to mind:

First, the communities of Massachusetts and all of America will suffer if federal and state fiscal woes continue to spiral out of control.

Second, by joining in the dialogue and fostering public understanding and sound solutions, cities and towns can once again demonstrate that they are loyal partners in our intergovernmental system and deserve the respect, resources and authority to serve their citizens.

And third, it’s just the right thing to do.