Bob Mercer joins many other South Dakotans in wishing that Governor Dennis Daugaard would use his budget address this afternoon to address corruption in state government. It seems unlikely Governor Daugaard will do so; he can’t even acknowledge that there is corruption in state government.
But as Mercer notes, corruption is inherently a budget issue:
Budgets are about money. The scandals dogging Daugaard are, too. Much of that money comes from we, the taxpayers. He and we might be on the hook for a whopper of a bill from the EB-5 scandal. The lawsuit filed by Chinese investors seeks $18.5 million from state government, claiming they were misled about the Northern Beef plant at Aberdeen.
…There also were misdeeds committed during the four years Jason Gant was secretary of state. The money blown in Gant’s office came from us, too [Bob Mercer, “Governor Should Address Scandals in Budget Address,” Rapid City Journal, 2015.12.06].
My Libertarian friends like to say, “Taxation is theft!” But taxation is not theft: taxation is the price we pay for civil society. We surrender a portion of our wealth with the expectation that our government will use every penny to build roads, schools, fire stations, parks, and other public goods that benefit us all. When well-placed cronies take some of those pennies to benefit themselves, they steal from us all. They steal public wealth. They steal public goods. They steal public confidence in government and make it harder for us to rally support for investing tax dollars in more public goods.
Taxation is not theft. Corruption is theft.
That theft drags down the ability of the Governor and the Legislature to fully fund our priorities without raising taxes. This theft threatens the integrity of all state programs. As theft, corruption is a fundamental budget issue that Governor Daugaard is obliged to confront in today’s budget speech.
To see if Governor Daugaard takes up that difficult challenge, tune in at 1 p.m. Central/noon Mountain on SDPB for the live broadcast from Pierre and follow my Twitter feed @coralhei for running highlights, commentary, and kibitzing!
Did Mercer just shoot himself in the foot by calling his only sources of news in Pierre corrupt? No GOPer will ever talk to him again.
Let’s be optimists: when even Bob Mercer, former Janklow man, can this straightforwardly address corruption in Pierre, perhaps we should see that as a signal that popular dissatisfaction with Pierre is at a critical mass that will demand action or replacement of elected officials who insist on inaction.
Could there really be corruption in a state that has little time for “tree hungers” or “those gays and fags” or “handouts for the lazy bums and drunken Indians”? How can the politicians turn a blind eye to the “job makers and economy boosters” that you so blithely call thieves and corrupted?
When Westerhuis supposedly kills his family for being fired for what the auditors say was not making any mistake at all, they should have hired an accountant to keep the books a few years ago rather than just let it slide. There is enough money running through that office to justify hiring an accountant. They seemed to be ok with paying some rather high salaries already. Besides, when farmers committed suicide in the farm crisis over losing the family farm, they did not shoot either the wife or the kids.
Nary a word on the budget address today of corruption! I did hope for some mentin of the potential 18.5 million the state is being sued for in 1 lawsuit and there are a couple more brewing or in progress! Or, is not mentioned in this 2017 budget address because it will drag out past this budget cycle. Oh yeah, “Rainy Day’ funding, ’emergency’ use That’s why we socked those millions asise, eh?
Indeed, Jake. The only hint of concern that trouble cold lie ahead in the EB-5 suit comes in a single recommended appropriation in the FY2017 Budget Book:
“The Governor is recommending $ 2,449,502 in general funds be deposited into the Extraordinary Litigation Fund to fund litigation expenses which are not eligible to be paid under SDCL 3-22-1.”
That’s $2,449,502 more than Governor Daugaard allocates to increased teacher pay in his budget proosal.
Cory, that is really puzzling. As Troy pointed out, the state has only waived sovereign immunity to the extent it is insured. Normally an insurance company is obligated to pay to defend whatever claims are made against the insured. That makes it a bit unclear why the Governor would allocate millions to defend this lawsuit?
The Extraordinary Litigation Fund (ELF) also has a life protection subfund (http://legis.sd.gov/Statutes/Codified_Laws/DisplayStatute.aspx?Type=Statute&Statute=1-14-3.1). Maybe they want to see what Roger Hunt can cook up this session for Planned Parenthood.
Daugaard did make a similar $1.042 million request in FY2012 (https://bfm.sd.gov/budget/rec13/SPAPPPSUM.pdf), and ELF funds were used to defend anti-abortion laws in 2011 (http://thinkprogress.org/health/2011/12/13/388335/south-dakota-governor-asks-for-another-1-million-to-defend-anti-abortion-law-in-court/), so it would be in their wheelhouse.